Conseil National de Libération

The Conseil National de Libération (CNL, "National Liberation Council"), also known as Comité National de Libération, was a political coalition and revolutionary militant organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Léopoldville) during the Congo Crisis of the 1960s. It was originally founded as an émigré political group and union of various dissident parties in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in October 1963, aiming to topple the Adoula government by mobilizing an armed insurrection. These efforts resulted in the Simba rebellion of 1963–1965, as the CNL mobilized a series of uprisings by insurgent forces which were collectively dubbed the "Simbas".

Though the Simba rebels were nominally part of the CNL's armed wing, the Armée Populaire de Libération, the political coalition's control over the insurgent units fluctuated widely. The Simbas temporarily conquered much of eastern DR Congo, with the CNL leader Christophe Gbenye proclaiming the "People's Republic of the Congo", but the rebels quickly descended into infighting and were pushed backed by pro-government forces. By late 1965, the CNL had fractured into rival groups in exile and the Simbas were reduced to a number of holdouts in rural areas.