CONGO: REBELS CLAIM THEY SHOT DOWN 2 ZIMBABWEAN JET FIGHTERS скачать в хорошем качестве

CONGO: REBELS CLAIM THEY SHOT DOWN 2 ZIMBABWEAN JET FIGHTERS

(22 Aug 1998) Eng/French/Nat Congolese rebels fighting to oust President Laurent Kabila say they have shot down two Zimbabwean jet fighters southwest of Kinshasa as a warning. Zimbabwe deployed nine-hundred troops on Friday to support Kabila's embattled government. News of the jet attack came at the start of a peace summit, organised by South African President Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, to avert a deepening crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Rebels claim to have shot down two Zimbabwean jet fighters on the Congo's western front as a warning to Zimbabwe. The announcement was made by rebel leaders at a news conference in the eastern Congo town of Goma on Saturday. So far there has been no independent confirmation of the attack, and no word on the fate of the pilots. The rebels, fighting to oust Congo President Laurent Kabila, are angry that Zimbabwe has sent nine-hundred troops to help Kabila ward off rebel advances, including five-hundred troops to the front lines in western Congo. They have vowed to continue to march on several fronts until Kabila agrees to a cease-fire and to a negotiated political solution. News of the attack came at the start of a peace conference organised by South Africa President Nelson Mandela. On Saturday, Mandela was pushing ahead with his mini-summit on the conflict in Pretoria but two key players said they would not attend. Mandela's spokesman Parks Mankahlana said Congo President Laurent Kabila, claiming illness, was sending Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has refused to attend the summit. At a press conference in Goma on Saturday, the President of the Coalition for Congolese Democracy said he hoped Mandela would be able to broker a peace deal. SOUNDBITE: (French) "We hope that the summit can persuade the Zimbabwe government to withdraw their troops. We also hope that the summit can arrive at a solution that will allow us to peacefully end our problems." SUPER CAPTION: Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, President of the Coalition for Congolese Democracy Members of the group also called for an end to Kabila's dictatorship. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I think this time Mr. Kabila will understand that Mandela deserves to succeed in helping the people of the Congo achieve a peaceful solution to their problems and we believe also that this summit will help Zimbabwe understand that they can't succeed oppressing the people of the Congo by trying to help one man, a dictator, Kabila." SUPER CAPTION: Bizima Karaha, member of the coalition and former foreign minister under Kabila The rebels - a coalition of ethnic Tutsis fighters and disenchanted members of the Congolese army - accuse Kabila of power-grabbing, tribalism and mismanagement of the vast African nation. Kabila, in turn, accuses Rwanda and Uganda of sponsoring the revolt and appealed for help from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola. Both Rwanda and Uganda denied the charge, but Rwanda has warned it will intervene unless the Zimbabweans withdrew. Angolan soldiers have also begun arriving in Kinshasa to help Kabila according to radio reports from Mozambique. The rebel forces, with important help from Rwanda and Uganda, last year helped Kabila oust longtime Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. They have since grown disenchanted with Kabila's failure to secure Congo's turbulent eastern border region. Kabila's war effort is being conducted from the Katanga region in the southeast, but from central to eastern to southern Africa, the war in vast and troubled Congo is threatening the stability of an already troubled region. 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...