For almost 25 years, President Mobutu's anticommunism made Zaire one of the leading African allies of the West, and of the USA in particular. Western economic and military aid û which included sending troops to help suppress the 1977 and 1978 invasions by exiles based in Angola û played a critical role in sustaining his regime. In return, he guaranteed Western access to Zaire's mineral wealth and provided Angola's US-backed unita rebels with bases during the 1980s.
At the same time, however, Mobutu's political astuteness enabled him to maintain close ties with several communist states, notably China. Relations with African neighbors were more problematic, complicated by Mobutu's support for UNITA and for Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara. From 1984 to 1986, Zaire withdrew from the OAU in protest over its support of Western Saharan independence.
Since the late 1980s, the changing political situation in eastern Europe, combined with growing concerns about human rights abuses and corruption in Zaire, has led to a fundamental shift in attitudes to Mobutu. Most countries have stopped all but humanitarian aid since 1990. Belgium, France, the USA and EU, formerly Mobutu's closest allies, now view him as an embarrassment. Backing the High Council and its nominated government, led by Etienne Tshisekedi, they are involved in efforts to resolve the country's political crisis and persuade Mobutu to step down.
