Edition Speciale : 2eme REP au Zaïre

1978

30 minutes - French

The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment in Zaire (Congo)

On May 20th, 1978, the elite paratroop unit known as the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment of the French Foreign Legion successfully liberated 2800 European hostages held by the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC) in the mining town of Kolwezi. A total of nearly 4000 FNLC rebels and foreign mercenaries, originally from Katanga, trapped the Congolese and European population of the city. They had killed between 90-280 Europeans before taking over Kolwezi, with its strategic road and railroad links, situated in the south of the Congo

Reporter Anne de Boismilon and cameraman Leo Mira were embedded among the French Foreign Legion’s elite paratroopers during the rescue operation. As some of the first television reporters present on the front lines of a raging battle, their exclusive coverage of on-the-ground military operations in Kolwezi set a new standard for conflict journalism at the time.