The term ‘Baluba’ entered the wider Irish lexicon around the 8 November 1960. Used to describe someone who is untrustworthy and barbaric, the expression made its lexicographical debut on the back of the infamous Niemba ambush where nine Irish soldiers were killed during the Irish Army’s peacekeeping expedition with the United Nations Operation in the Congo. The eponymous Balubas, a local tribe, perpetrated the attack on the 33rd Irish Battalion that was patrolling in the area. The ambush has since become a historical checkpoint in Irish military history. The shocking barbarous nature of the ambush captured the public’s attention as it brought the reality of … Continue reading Niemba – The Birth of an Army