/ 15 April 1999

REBEL ALLIES INSPECTED

TOP military brass from Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo rebels inspected their allied troops on Tuesday ahead of an apparent offensive against southeastern provincial capitals. Wearing unmarked fatigues, generals Kayumba Nyamwansa of Rwanda, Jeje Odongo of Uganda and Celestin Ilunga of the military wing of the Congolese Rally for Democracy — the main rebel movement — reviewed their troops around Kabalo, a small town serving as a rear base for the Katanga front.The objectives of the rebel alliance are apparently Mbuji Mayi, a diamond mining centre in Kasai Oriental province and Lubumbashi, the country’s second city, in Katanga province.