Malayan Special Force in Congo (1961)

The 13 Italians and their Names

Make no mistake, the Kindu massacre or incident was a day of ignomy and infamy for the Malayan Special Force, our army, and the country. The responsibility fell squarely on Maj David Daud Yassin, OC B Company 6 RMR, the designated Kindu Garrison Commander.

I first met Captain David Daud in September 1960, a graduate of RMA Sandhurst, he was a flamboyant person driving a MGA sports car when he visited us at the Government Mess A chalet (now Wisma LTAT) where we stayed prior to departure for the Congo.

A brief background. The Congo during that period was basically divided into three factions:

(1) Mobotu's faction (pro-West), the central government, occupied slightly more than a third of the western portion of the country;

(ii) Gizenga's faction (left-leaning) occupied roughly another third in the eastern Congo, and (iii) Tshumbe's faction (pro-West business), occupied less than a third, the southern part of Congo. Kindu was strategic with a port, rail and airhead in Gizenga's eastern Congo.

It was first occupied by a company of Nigerian (5QONR) ONUC troops. One day, a Nigerian platoon was ambushed by the Congolese near their Officers' Mess. The officer, a Lt Ben, a Sandhurst graduate was known to some of our officers, was killed, with many wounded.

The Nigerian Officers' Mess was a nice villa located on the road from the airport to Kindu town. After that ambush, the Nigerian contingent withdrew and was replaced by the Malayan Special Force (4RMR plus C Sqn 2 Recce) in March 1961. When we took over that Officers' Mess was rejected outright by our CO, Lt Col Ungku Nazaruddin simply because it was indefensible.

Read it all here......