THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 14th September 1960
Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of newly independent Congo, was overthrown in a coup staged by the then head of the Congolese army, Colonel Joseph Mobutu, sparking the Congo crisis. It is now well documented that the CIA was behind the coup, supporting Mobutu for most of his 32 years in power.
Lumumba was placed under house arrest with a contingent of United Nations troops guarding him, supposedly for his own protection.
Lumumba was eventually assassinated by a firing squad, which included Begian officers, along with two of his close allies, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito. The bodies of Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito were dismembered, dissolved in acid or burnt by the Begians. Their deaths were not made public until after three weeks.
Here is a short video about the crisis in the Congo:
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