Congo Rebels Offer Truce; Mandela Calls for Summit
Rebels approaching this capital Thursday offered a cease-fire and talks with President Laurent Kabila, as South African President Nelson Mandela called for a regional summit.
“We are ready for a cease-fire. We are ready for negotiations with Kabila, because we believe the problems of the Congo are political and beg a political solution,” said Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, head of the rebel Congolese Democratic Coalition.
There was no immediate reaction to the cease-fire offer, although Information Minister Didier Mumengi said earlier that any talks should include Rwanda and Uganda.
Kabila, who ousted dictator Mobutu Sese Seko 15 months ago with the help of Rwanda and Uganda, has accused his former allies of fomenting the rebellion that erupted in the east of this country three weeks ago and has nearly reached Kinshasa.
With the 14-nation Southern African Development Community in disarray over how to defuse the crisis, Mandela said in Cape Town after meeting Namibian President Sam Nujoma that he had called a summit of the regional group.
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