OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00PM.
ZIMBABWE has increased the number of its troops backing the Democratic Republic of Congo army against rebels from 600 to 2800 in the past few days, which have seen an escalation in fighting, the Zimbabwe Independent reported on Friday.
“Initially, we had underestimated the number of foreign troops in the Congo, but we have no option but to increase our strength — we are reliably informed that Uganda has been airlifting Rwandan troops to fight with the rebels which are being armed by South Africa,” Colonel Chancellor Diye, a defence spokesman said. He refused to disclose the number of troops so far committed to the DRC, saying it was a “military secret”.
More than 2000 other elite troops have reportedly been put on standby in case the situation deteriorates further.
Zimbabwe claims to have lost only five troops — two killed and three missing — since its deployment a week ago. But reports from the DRC say at least 50 Zimbabwean soldiers have died.
The Zambia Post has reported that 30 Zimbabwean soldiers are dead, and that rebels have paraded their uniforms and passports.
On Friday, the DRC government and allied Angolan, Zimbabwean and Namibian troops were reported to have won control of Kinshasa airport, the scene of fierce fighting in the past two days. They claimed to have taken more than 1000 prisoners in and around the capital. Zimbabwe’s official new agency has reported that about half the 8,000-strong rebel force on Congo’s south-western front had been either captured or killed.
Rebels forces, however, still occupy the Congo river port of Matadi and the Inga dam which supplies Kinshasa with power. In the east, the rebels control several important cities, including Goma, Bukavu and Kisangani.
Uganda’s defacto defence minister Major General Salim Saleh has meanwhile said that Angolan and Zimbabwean troops have attacked Ugandan troops deployed inside the DRC. He said fighting will continue in DRC if Kabila continues to oppose peace proposals spearheaded by South African President Nelson Mandela.
Mediation efforts by the Southern African Development Community have been put on hold until the Non-Aligned Movement summit in South Africa, which starts on Saturday. Both Kabila and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe are expected at the NAM summit in Durban.
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