Zaire wider campaign of , ridding the country of the influences from the colonial era of the Belgian Congo, was also launched under Mobutu's direction. Weakened by the end of American support after the end of the Cold War, Mobutu was forced to declare a new republic in 1990 to cope with demands for change. By the time of its downfall, Mobutu's rule was characterised by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement. Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the state in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, ,
27th Air Division Station by 1970. In February 1959, the Los Angeles Air Defense Sector was activated during the deployment of the Semi Automatic Ground Environment#Deployment (SAGE) as a subordinate unit of the 27th AD. However, the Denver SCC/CC was cancelled in March 1959; so instead of moving from the Southwest United States to the interior (and the 28th Air Division then taking over as the Southwestern Air Division), the 27th Air Division was inactivated on 1 October 1959 (command transferred to the subordinate Los Angeles Air Defense Sector). Reactivated in January 1966 at Luke Air Force Base, the 27th Air Division consolidation