A republic, Congo is in central Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. Area: 342,000 sq km (132,047 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 2,775,000. Cap.: Brazzaville. Monetary unit: CFA franc, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a par value of CFAF 50 to the French franc and a free rate of CFAF 283.25 to U.S. $1 (CFAF 429.12 = £ 1 sterling). President in 1993, Pascal Lissouba; prime ministers, Claude Antoine Dacosta and, from June 23, Jacques Yhombi-Opango.
Political tensions increased in Congo after the May 2, 1993, legislative elections. Pres. Pascal Lissouba`s Pan-African Union for Social Democracy took 62 of the 125 seats. Violence erupted in June following a runoff election. Protesting Lissouba`s appointment of former military ruler Jacques Yhombi-Opango as prime minister, opposition leader Bernard Kolelas set up a rival government. Twenty were killed and many more injured in violent demonstrations early in July. Fears of a possible military coup intensified when Lissouba dismissed army chief Gen. Jean-Marie Mokoko on July 16 after the general reportedly called the new National Assembly an "illegal" government. Following a series of armed attacks on civilians by rival militia, a state of emergency was proclaimed. On July 29 government representatives met with opposition leaders in Libreville, Gabon, agreeing to ratify the results of the May elections and hold a runoff. Ethnic-tinged violence continued through the year’s end, however, and 60 lives were lost in Brazzaville in mid-December. In addition to its electoral woes, the government remained nearly bankrupt. Congo’s civil servants were to receive only seven months’ pay in 1993.
This updates the article Congo, history of.