Congo rebels blocked by govt forces
High explosive artillery shells which detonated over rebel troops as they attempted to outflank Congolese, Angolan and Zimbabwean soldiers to the northeast and southeast of the city drove residents off the streets.
Unsure of how to tell a rebel from one of their own, troops loyal to President Kabila combed the city's boulevards and shanties, searching for ``infiltrators'' amid rising paranoia.
The government imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6am until further notice. Military sources in Mr Kabila's Southern African military alliance said that at least two points on the outskirts of the city were attacked by rebels who had been driven from the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo by huge Angolan armoured columns.
``This was a brave but suicidal mission. The rebels tried to take the airport northeast of Kinshasa. But it is heavily defended by Congo and her allies and they didn't stand a chance,'' a senior officer said.
The boasts of success in what military sources in Kinshasa described as ``mopping-up operations'' were undermined by the extent of suspicion and fear spread by the attacks on the city.
Congolese soldiers ordered foreigners from the streets, stopped every pedestrian they saw and searched passing vehicles, including those of their own ministers, in their search for guerrillas.
(The Times, London)
- SAM KILEY
