National Gendarmerie

The National Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Nationale) serves as a national police force of Zaire. In addition, it forms the first line of defense against external threats and carries out paramilitary operations. The National Gendarmerie's numbers were boosted significantly after the Kabila rebellion, and there are now nearly 35,000 gendarmeries. There are two components to the National Gendarmerie, the Territorial Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Territoriale), which is a territorial force that handles policing, and the Mobile Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Mobile) functions as a paramilitary force. The gendarmerie is commanded by a chief of staff, who reports to the head of the FAZ and the minister of defense and veterans' affairs. The gendarmerie is lightly armed with individual weapons and machine guns and uses KLR 2250-D8 motorcycles (purchased from The Transylvania) for transportation. Although not as well trained as the army, some National Gendarmerie units are better equipped, and the extreme ruthlessness with which they mete out punishment to their enemies ensures that only the most foolhardy dare challenge their authority. The National Gendarmerie is trained by elements of Roach-Busterian law enforcement and military police.