OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kigali | Thursday 9.00PM.
FIGHTING continued in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa, on Thursday after rebel forces determined to topple President Laurent Kabila infiltrated the city.
The allied forces backing Kabila appear to have maintained a hold on the city one day after fierce artillery battles broke out in the eastern suburbs.
“Hundreds of prisoners have been taken as part of our operations to crush this aggression,” Information Minister Didier Mumengi said.
Kinshasa residents, however, said that Kabila’s forces are burning alive any rebels they encounter, and that there are charred bodies in the city streets.
Kinshasa has been under curfew since the fighting broke out. Most shops and offices remained closed on Thursday as government troops mounted roadblocks and searched the few vehicles on the roads.
Uganda has pulled its ambassador and diplomats out of Kinshasa, evacuating them to Brazzaville across the Congo River. It said the decision to close the embassy was on account of Kabila’s accusation that Uganda is militarily supporting the rebels.
On Thursday, Kabila’s private secretary, Yerodia Ndombasi, reiterated the government’s accusation of Rwandan and Ugandan aggression. He said OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim is welcome in Kinshasa so long as his mission is related to “the withdrawal of the invading troops”. However, if Salim wishes to come and discuss other aspects of the crisis, he said, “nobody will listen to him”.
Meanwhile a regional peace delegation of southern African ministers due to arrive in Kinshasa on Thursday was forced to postpone its visit. The foreign ministers of South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique and OAU Secretary-General Salim spent Wednesday waiting in vain for fighting to subside to allow them into the capital. They have since flown to Addis Ababa instead.