Zairian Rebel Leader Terms U.S. Troops at Border a Threat

Rebel leader Laurent Kabila objected Sunday to the presence of American troops on Zaire’s border, calling them a threat to his country’s integrity.

“They could move in at any time. They don’t recognize the sovereignty of our people,” Kabila said at rebel headquarters in eastern Zaire.

“For us, it is a threat to our territorial integrity,” said Kabila, whose forces have taken control of the eastern third of Zaire during their seven-month campaign to oust dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

Kabila also said there should be no international intervention in Zaire.

About 1,200 U.S., Belgian, French and British forces have set up camp in Brazzaville, Congo, across the Zaire River from the Zairian capital, Kinshasa, in case Westerners have to be evacuated. The U.S. warship Nassau is also stationed off the coast of the Central African nation with about 1,000 Marines aboard.

While Kabila didn’t say specifically that American troops should leave the region, he apparently fears that there are more U.S. soldiers than would be needed to evacuate the 500 or so Americans who live in Zaire.

State Department officials in Washington refused to comment Sunday on Kabila’s objections, but they reiterated that the possible evacuation is the soldiers’ sole purpose.

The rebels have kept up their advance through Zaire, although their representatives were meeting Sunday in South Africa with officials from Mobutu’s government, trying to sort out a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

South African and Zairian officials were tight-lipped Sunday about progress in the first substantive peace negotiations between Zaire’s warring factions.

No one involved would say where the talks were being held or even characterize the tone of the discussions. The two sides met informally Saturday because they were still waiting for some government representatives to arrive.

Kabila confirmed Sunday that the rebels had taken Mbuji-Mayi, the country’s diamond-mining center, encountering some opposition from Mobutu’s forces.

The diamonds, and Shaba province’s copper and cobalt, have amounted to a money-making machine for Mobutu’s 31-year regime. Now, they will be revenue for the alliance.

Speaking Sunday of his plans for the future of Zaire, Kabila said he envisions a transitional government and a political reorganization, then elections within a year.

Last month, Kabila said that only his Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire would be allowed to function as a political party.

But on Sunday, he said other parties would be allowed to return to the political arena, possibly including Mobutu’s Popular Movement for Renewal.