ZAMBIAN President Frederick Chiluba announced on Tuesday that the long awaited Democratic Republic of Congo peace talks will be held in Lusaka in mid-January. The talks, say Chiluba, will be attended by the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy — a significant breakthrough if it occurs as DRC President Laurent Kabila has refused to talk to rebel leaders in the past. Chiluba said he is still consulting with other leaders in the region to agree on the actual date of the summit. The rebel leaders on Monday met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni before flying to Rwanda to meet President Pascar Bizimungu.
FREETOWN THREATENED
HEAVY fighting broke out in Freetown early on Wednesday between Sierra Leone rebels and forces of the Nigerian-led West African intervention force, Ecomog.Heavy gunfire was heard at 1am in the eastern suburbs of Wellington and Kalaba, sending civilians fleeing these areas.By 4am the gunfire had spread to the capital’s central and western districts. In February 1998, Ecomog routed renegade troops of a military junta which seized power in 1997.
COMMONWEALTH TEAM IN NIGERIA
A SEVENTEEN-member team from the Commonwealth Secretariat arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday to prepare for the monitoring of the state assembly elections to be held on January 9. The team, which will report to the Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, was invited by the Independent National Electoral Commission to observe the country’s elections which commenced with the local government council poll held on December 5 1998.