The Kindu Massacre, or Kindu Atrocity, took place on the 11th or 12 November 1961 in Kindu Port-Émpain, in the Congo-Léopoldville (the former Belgian Congo). Thirteen Italian airmen—members of the United Nations Operation in the Congo, sent to pacify the country ravaged by civil war— were murdered by locals.
The Italian aviators manned two C-119s, twin-engined transport aircraft known as Flying Boxcars, of the 46ª Aerobrigata based at Pisa Airfield.
Background
The DRC was long known to have vast natural resources including, but not limited to, copper, tantalum, cobalt, gold, and diamonds. In order to gain control of these resources, Belgium (backed by other European powers) colonized the DRC in the mid-1800s and oversaw a brutal regime of abuse, slavery, and resource extraction. After protests, democratic movements, increasing cost, and international pressure made their continued position untenable, Belgium agreed to a transition to Congolese self-governance. Although formal colonial rule was ended, the assassination of Congo's first democratically elected leader by CIA-backed factions later installed Kabila; who would continue legacies of corruption and resource extraction. To this day, foreign interests remain a powerful influencer in Congolese politics. Belgium left Congo-Léopoldville (today known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) as agreed but political and administrative chaos ensued. Major Cold War and financial interests played a part in making the situation even more serious by favoring the secession of two regions, South Kasai and Katanga. Katanga was the richest province in the country with important mining activity.
Three factions were involved: Joseph Kasa-Vubu's, with troops led by General Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, the pro-Lumumba faction led by Antoine Gizenga with troops under the command of General Victor Lundula holding the eastern province, and Moise Tshombe's Katangan faction, with gendarmes supported by foreign mercenaries.
The massacre
The two Italian aircrews had been operating for a year and a half in the Congo, and their return to Italy was scheduled for November 23, 1961. On the morning of November 11, 1961, the two aircraft took off from the capital city Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) to supply the small Malaysian United Nations garrison controlling the airfield not far from Kindu, on the edge of the equatorial forest.
The two C-119s appeared in the sky above Kindu shortly after 2 PM. Among the 2,000 Congolese soldiers in Kindu, rumors had spread that an airdrop by Tshombe's parachutists was imminent; Gizenga's troops, operating 500 kilometers due south in northern Katanga, had been bombed by Katangese aircraft for months.
On Saturday, the Congolese saw the two aircraft in the sky, increasing their fear and suspicions. Upon the arrival of the Congolese, more and more numerous and threatening, the unarmed Italians tried to barricade themselves in the building but were taken prisoner. The few Malaysian guards were soon overpowered. First to die was Medic Tenente Remotti while trying to escape.
At dusk, the Italian airmen were finished off with two bursts of small arms. Then a crowd got hold of the bodies and cut them up with machetes.
They were accused of supplying weapons to Katangan secessionists. The militiamen spread rumors that the Italian aviators were flying towards Katanga and had been tricked into landing at Kindu by control tower personnel; however, special correspondent Alberto Ronchey (for the Italian newspaper La Stampa) found out a few days later that the control tower had been out of order for months ahead of the killings. It was only in February 1962 that the remains of those Italians, martyrs of a peacekeeping mission, were discovered in two long and tight pits in the cemetery at Tokolote, a small village near the Lualaba River, on the edge of the woods.
Another Italian had been killed in Congo some days earlier during an ambush by guerrillas. His name was Italian Red Cross Lieutenant Raffaele Soru, and he was decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
United Nations and Congolese response
On November 13, General Victor Lundula dispatched two army officials, accompanied by two UN officers, to Kindu to investigate. Colonel Pakassa refused to acknowledge their authority, and claimed that the Italians had escaped his soldiers' custody. Lundula then traveled to Kindu to insist that Pakassa file a formal report on the incident, upon which Pakassa told him that he had no information to share. Lundula and Minister of Interior Christophe Gbenye submitted a formal report on the incident.