CONGO: KINSHASA: FORCES LOYAL TO KABILA BATTLE AGAINST REBELS скачать в хорошем качестве

CONGO: KINSHASA: FORCES LOYAL TO KABILA BATTLE AGAINST REBELS

(26 Aug 1998) English/Nat Forces still loyal to Laurent Kabila are battling rebel fighters on Kinshasa's eastern outskirts. The sustained artillery and small arms battle came just one day after President Kabila returned to a capital whose defences have been reinforced by allied by Angola and Zimbabwe. Explosions could be heard throughout Kinshasa on Wednesday. Most of the shops in the downtown area have closed and the streets are deserted with the state radio warning people to stay indoors. The radio said the Congolese armed forces were "conducting mopping up operations of armed elements who infiltrated the capital". Road blocks have been set up and armed soldiers patrol the streets in cars and on foot. One witness said fighting raged through the night in the area of Kingasani and Kinbanseke, both suburbs about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of downtown. An Organisation of African Unity (O-A-U) delegation cancelled talks in Kinshasa with President Kabila because of the fighting. The delegation included the South African foreign and defence ministers, as well as the foreign ministers of Zambia and Mozambique. Instead the foreign ministers met in Addis Ababa, where they discussed the crisis and prepared to brief other members of the O-A-U on an South-African-led proposal to end the fighting in Congo. In South Africa, President Mandela said he personally had spoken to Kabila, and that his government was monitoring the situation closely. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I spoke to President Kabila yesterday, and the previous night. I am in contact with him and I am also in contact with the Secretary General of the O-A-U. In fact the minister of foreign affairs, together with the foreign ministers of Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania, are now in Addis Ababa. And our foreign minister 'phoned me to give me a gist of their discussions and their next move. So we are in touch with the situation." SUPER CAPTION: Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa African diplomats close to the O-A-U said on Wednesday members were preparing to endorse the South African initiative. 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...