Ex-Allies in Congo Fight Each Other
Rwandan and Ugandan troops, onetime allies in the fight to topple Congo’s president, traded ferocious mortar and artillery barrages Monday in an effort to control this northern Congolese city and its airport.
The fighting surged despite a heavy afternoon downpour and prompted the leaders of Rwanda and Uganda to rush to southern Uganda for talks on ending the confrontation that imperils their campaign to oust Congolese President Laurent Kabila.
In an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the dispute, Gayle Smith, President Clinton’s national security advisor for African affairs, held separate talks Monday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan Vice President Paul Kagame.
The fighting, which began Saturday, came after South Africa’s foreign minister visited Kisangani to determine which leader of the Congolese Rally for Democracy, the main Congolese rebel movement, should sign a peace accord reached last month to end the yearlong rebellion against Kabila.
Uganda and Rwanda back rival rebel leaders and differ over how to end the conflict. Each has sent in thousands of troops. Doctors in Kisangani estimated that at least 50 civilians had been killed in the last three days.
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