[2] In early May 1990, students studying at the university protested against Mobutu's regime, demanding his resignation.

[3] On the night of 11 May 1990, electricity was cut off to the campus while a special military unit called Les Hiboux ("The Owls") were sent in, armed with machetes and bayonets.

[4] Over the course of the night, the men of Les Hiboux bayoneted and hacked to pieces the protesting students.

By the dawn of 12 May 1990, at least 290 students had been killed with the halls of the campus soaked in blood and dismembered human body parts.

[3] The massacre led to the nations of the European Economic Community (now the European Union), the United States, and Canada to end all non-humanitarian aid to Zaire, which marked the beginning of the end of Western support for Mobutu.