/ 6 May 1997

Kabila refuses to halt rebel advance

NEW FRONT IN DRUG WAR A GROUP calling itself “Soldiers of Islam” today claimed responsibility for last night’s firebombing of a house in Lenasia, near Johannesburg. An anonymous caller said Soldiers of Islam will continue to bomb houses belonging to drug dealers. The firebombing adds a new twist to the ongoing war between Cape Flats druglords and People Against Gangsterism and Drugs vigilantes. Police yesterday expressed concern that the tit-for-tat attacks might devewlop into a civil war, especially given the religious undertones.