Congo Rebels Cement Hold on Town
Rebels fighting to topple Congolese President Laurent Kabila were in control of the town of Kindu on Tuesday, neutralizing his last major bastion in the east, sources on both sides said.
Rebels and senior military sources said Kindu, with its strategic airport, fell late Monday after an eight-day battle.
Kabila loyalists described an orderly retreat from Kindu, where the town’s wide, tree-lined streets were deserted of vehicles and people.
Residents took refuge in the surrounding forests, and government forces made off with many cars and trucks.
The rebels now hold all the main towns in the east of Congo as well as the nation’s third-largest city, Kisangani.
Kindu provided the government with a springboard to launch airstrikes against rebel positions in the east.
State radio reported that Kabila was involved in talks with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, whose troops helped block a rebel attempt to take Kinshasa, the capital, in August.
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