DATE=12/13/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGO FIGHTING (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257094
BYLINE=TODD PITMAN
DATELINE=KIGALI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Rebel officials in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo are reporting fresh clashes with government
troops on the northwestern front. As Todd Pitman
reports from the Rwandan capital, Kigali, the latest
fighting comes as all sides involved in the conflict
are trying to agree on a mediator.
TEXT: Rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba says government
soldiers have recaptured Nkonya, a small town on the
Congo river in the northern province of Equator.
Mr. Bemba says 119 government soldiers died on Sunday
in a battle for the town, while only two rebel
fighters were killed.
There was no independent confirmation of the claims,
but the reported fighting is the latest in a series of
incidents on the northwestern front.
Mr. Bemba says 135 government troops were captured in
Sunday's battle.
Mr. Bemba says government troops have tried several
times over the past three days to break through rebel
lines near his headquarters at Basankusu, about 800
kilometers northeast of the capital Kinshasa, hitting
rebel positions with gunboats and bombing them from
above with planes.
A ceasefire accord was signed in the Zambian capital
Lusaka last August, but deep mistrust remains between
the government, the rebels and their respective
allies.
Government officials says there will be little
progress in implementing the peace deal until foreign
troops -- specifically rebel-backers Rwanda and
Uganda -- pull out of the country. But both of those
countries say they will stay in Congo until their own
security concerns are addressed.
Rebel officials say O-A-U Secretary-General Salim
Ahmed Salim is convening a meeting in the Ethiopian
capital on Tuesday to help bridge a key gap among the
warring parties -- choosing a neutral facilitator to
help mediate the conflict. (Signed)
NEB/TP/JWH
13-Dec-1999 09:23 AM EDT (13-Dec-1999 1423 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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