About a thousand UN peacekeepers, aided by helicopter gunships, began attacking Rwandan rebels in eastern Congo. The peacekeepers are trying to either disarm the rebels, drive them back into Rwanda, or kill them. Most of the rebels, about 8,000 men, are Rwandan Hutus who fled to Congo ten years ago after they tried to kill all the Tutsi people in Rwanda. There are also several thousand armed men from eastern Congo, who have basically turned to banditry.

Also in the northeast, some 3,000 soldiers mutinied, and attacked local civilians. The soldiers were former rebels belonging to the People's Armed Forces of Congo (FAPC). Such rebels were poorly disciplined, and had a hard time adapting to army discipline. The immediate cause of the rebellion was the murder of a soldier, but the main reason was poor leadership and training.