OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kisangani | Wednesday 11.00pm.
REBELS occupying the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Kisangani are striking north and aiming for the strategic town of Buta after overrunning Banalia, 100km north of Kisangani, their military commander said on Wednesday.
Commander Jean-Pierre Ondekane said that Banalia had been under rebel control for some time, and said that the rebels were progressing on all fronts.
Rebel announcements from the field as to which towns are held and which being approached have recently contradicted announcements from rebel political headquarters in Goma.
Ondekane has vowed to continue the civil war until the insurgents oust President Laurent Kabila. After being snubbed at the Victoria Falls summit earlier this week, the rebels say they are not bound by the ceasefire signed by six heads of states on Tuesday. They have also said of the planned meeting in Addis Ababa on Thursday that if they do not attend, talk of a ceasfire will be “theoretical”.
Kabila, meanwhile, arrived back in Kinshasa on Wednesday, the first time he has returned to the capital since August 17.
Power was restored to Kinshasa on Wednesday, after a three-week black-out. The curfew there has also been shortened, and is now from midnight to 6.00am.
Belgium has announced that it is ready to start airlifting 700 tons of food into Kinshasa. Transport of goods into the city remains disrupted, and prices on basic foodstuffs have tripled.
Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke said on Wednesday that a C-130 military transport plane is at to Pointe Noire in neighboring Republic of Congo, some 400km from Kinshasa, ready to start the airlift. However shipments have been held up by “practical and diplomatic difficulties”.