Shelling Rocks City as Talks Continue

Fierce shelling rocked the center of Brazzaville, the capital, as its mayor held more talks on ending the monthlong fighting, witnesses said. Mayor Bernard Kolelas met with former national leader Gen. Denis Sassou-Nguesso, a spokesperson for the mayor said, to try to persuade him to accept a nine-point peace plan. The plan reportedly centers on conditions for presidential elections. President Pascal Lissouba, whose forces have been fighting Sassou-Nguesso’s militia, has accepted the plan as a basis for negotiation, the spokesperson said.