thumb|ANC parade in 1960 During the crucial period of July–August 1960, Mobutu built up "his" national army by channeling foreign aid to units loyal to him, by exiling unreliable units to remote areas, and by absorbing or dispersing rival armies. He tied individual officers to him by controlling their promotion and the flow of money for payrolls. Researchers working from the 1990s have concluded that money was directly funnelled to the army by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the United Nations, and Belgium.For CIA see David N. Gibbs, 'Secrecy and International Relations,' Journal of Peace Research, vol. 32, no. 2, 1995, pp. 213—228. , 18 March 2012, and for UN and Belgium, De Witte. Despite this, by September 1960, following the four-way division of the country, there were four separate armed forces: Mobotu's ANC itself, numbering about 12,000, the South Kasai Constabulary loyal to Albert Kalonji (3,000 or less), the Katanga Gendarmerie which were part of Moise Tshombe's regime (totalling about 10,000), and the Stanleyville dissident ANC loyal to Antoine Gizenga (numbering about 8,000).Gordon McDonald et al, U.S. Army Area Handbook for the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) [issued by the Foreign Area Studies Division of American University], June 1962, p. 620. For more on the separating armed units, see Jean-Claude Willame, Patrimonialism and political change in the Congo, Stanford University Press, 1972, 64–72, and Congo 1960: la sécession du Sud-Kasaï.
thumb|ANC parade in 1960 During the crucial period of July–August 1960, Mobutu built up "his" national army by channeling foreign aid to units loyal to him, by exiling unreliable units to remote areas, and by absorbing or dispersing rival armies. He tied individual officers to him by controlling their promotion and the flow of money for payrolls. Researchers working from the 1990s have concluded that money was directly funnelled to the army by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the United Nations, and Belgium.For CIA see David N. Gibbs, 'Secrecy and International Relations,' Journal of Peace Research, vol. 32, no. 2, 1995, pp. 213—228. , 18 March 2012, and for UN and Belgium, De Witte. Despite this, by September 1960 following the four-way division of the country, there were four separate armed forces: Mobotu's ANC itself, numbering about 12,000, the South Kasai Constabulary loyal to Albert Kalonji (3,000 or less), the Katanga Gendarmerie which were part of Moise Tshombe's re,gime (totalling about 10,000), and the Stanleyville dissident ANC loyal to Antoine Gizenga (numbering about 8,000).Gordon McDonald et al, U.S. Army Area Handbook for the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) [issued by the Foreign Area Studies Division of American University], June 1962, p. 620. For more on the separating armed units, see Jean-Claude Willame, Patrimonialism and political change in the Congo, Stanford University Press, 1972, 64–72, and Congo 1960: la sécession du Sud-Kasaï.