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Within days of the Congo’s independence in June 1960, the army mutinied and the rich province of Katanga seceded. Belgium invaded its former colony under the pretext of protecting its citizens and maintaining public order. The Congo sought aid from the United Nations, which set up its first peacekeeping mission in Africa. The eec, for its part, wished to pursue cooperation with the new state and aimed to associate it with Europe. Nevertheless, in search of a way to achieve its objective, France expressed reservations about multilateral interventions. It perceived them as supranational and dangerous for colonial powers, being itself at war in Algeria. France viewed the situation in the Congo less as an international conflict than as an internal one between Lumumba and Tshombé. It counted on the establishment of bilateral relations with the Congo, but results were limited.