CONGO: FIRST FRENCH SOLDIERS WITHDRAW FROM BRAZZAVILLE скачать в хорошем качестве

CONGO: FIRST FRENCH SOLDIERS WITHDRAW FROM BRAZZAVILLE

(16 Jun 1997) French/Nat The first French soldiers have begun to withdraw from the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, on Monday. About 100 French troops left the Congo for the neighbouring West African state of Gabon where talks on resolving the conflict were due to begin Monday. On Sunday, Paris rejected an appeal by Congo's President, Pascal Lissouba, to halt the withdrawal in the fear that it could lead to the collapse of his government. French troops started to pack up the French military base in the Congo Monday -- to begin their withdrawal. France had sent 12-hundred troops to this Central African state to help with the evacuation of around 5-thousand-500 foreigners. Now that their task is over, Paris has ordered its troops to withdraw. 16 planes will fly the soldiers to the Gabonese capital, Libreville, by 1500GMT on Monday. The first four planes, containing around 100 troops, left on Monday morning. A French commander told journalists at the airport that their mission had been a success. SOUNDBITE: (French) "Our mission has been achieved. It consisted of evacuating nations. So our work is done and done well. We are all pleased with it." SUPER CAPTION: Commander Richard Esnon, French troop commander But the French are leaving behind a highly volatile situation. Sunday saw the worst fighting in Brazzaville since a cease-fire was negotiated last Wednesday. Congolese President Pascal Lissouba's forces fired shells across the airport at the rival "Cobra" militias, led by the former military leader, Dennis Sassou Nguesso. They retaliated in kind. Shortly after the outburst, President Lissouba appealed to Paris not to withdraw its troops - fearing their withdrawal could lead to an all-out fight for control of the airport or even the overthrow of his government. Paris refused his request. The pull-out has intensified efforts to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the conflict. Delegates from the opposing sides are due to meet in Libreville Monday to prepare the groundwork for a summit between President Lissouba and his rival, Sassou Nguesso. Their conflict turned violent on June 5 -- when the President's forces cracked down on private militias in the run up to the 27 July Presidential elections. Around 5-thousand-500 foreigners were evacuated -- including a number of Franco-Congolese late on Sunday. Amongst the last evacuees to leave -- four gorillas from the Brazzaville zoo. They were flown out on one of the last planes to Pointe Noire, a town on the Congolese coast. In the meantime, President Lissouba has appealed for an African peace force to oversee the election -- saying democracy in the Congo relies on Presidential elections going ahead. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...