Various groups of men marching to Leopoldville army camp.




Initials PC/S/JF



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Background: Following U.N. Secretary-General Hammarskjoeld's announcement that United Nations forces were to move into Katanga with Belgian consent, Premier of the breakaway province, Moise Tshombe, ordered full mobilization of his state armed forces and said "Belgium has let us down - we are prepared to die rather than be occupied by any foreign troops." Our cameraman was in Elisabethville August 4 when many young civilians were marched to the local army camp to register for service.

A few hours before United Nations soldiers were due to arrive in Katanga it was announced August 5 that the operation had been called off pending a meeting of the Security Council the next day. The decision was announced in Leopoldville soon after a United Nations envoy had reported back from Katanga. Earlier, the Katanga Government prohibited 21 civilians working for the United Nations from entering the province after landing at Elisabethville airport.

As their aircraft came to a halt, a guard of Katanga gendarmerie was posted at its doors and no one was allowed to leave. Eventually the plane took off to return to Leopoldville and with it went Dr Bunche, head of the United Nations Congo mission, to report to Mr Hammarskjoeld. The airport was then closed until further notice. African troops with machine-guns and grenades were guarding the airport and oil drums and lorries were prepared to block the runways.