CNN logo
navbar


Infoseek/Big Yellow


Pathfinder/Warner Bros


Barnes and Noble
World banner
rule

Warring Republic of Congo factions agree to more talks

Meeting

Latest developments:

June 14, 1997
Web posted at: 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT)

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (CNN) -- The United States and France joined talks aimed at ending bloody fighting between two factions in the Republic of Congo, and were rewarded when both sides agreed to meet again Monday in Gabon.

Lissouba

Brazzaville mayor and mediator Bernard Kolelas said Saturday the meeting of envoys for President Pascal Lissouba and former Marxist military leader Gen. Denis Sassou-Nguesso will be a prelude to one between the longtime rivals themselves.

Kolelas said that Gabon's veteran president, Omar Bongo, would host Sunday's meeting in Libreville.

Brazzaville has been devastated by the fighting between forces loyal to Lissouba and Sassou-Nguesso, Lissouba's predecessor and arch rival.

On Saturday, U.S. Ambassador Aubrey Hooks hailed the lull in the battles and the progress made in the negotiations.

CNN's Cathering Bond reports from the Republic of Congo
VXtreme streaming video

"The two sides are talking about concrete steps and that's encouraging," he said, adding, "It is perhaps a little early at this point to bring the principals into direct negotiations."

Also Saturday, U.N. Special Envoy Mohamed Sahnoun arrived in Brazzaville and met with Lissouba and Kolelas. He said later that the idea of an African peacekeeping mission is under discussion.

African peacekeeping mission discussed

Sassou

"We don't rule out an African presence," Sahnoun said. "We are going to discuss this issue. Then we have a meeting in Libreville with plenipotentiaries representing different movements so we can formalize this idea."

"There has been progress," Sassou-Nguesso said Saturday night after his talk with Sahnoun. "But we can't say there has been 100 percent progress."

Bodies still littered the streets of Brazzaville, a city of 700,000, which has been devastated by fighting. Thousands of people have fled, and aid workers and military officials have been unable to reach all areas to compile a reliable death toll. Guesses run from the hundreds to perhaps several thousand.

Bodies

The morgue is filled with bodies, and corpses have been abandoned on operating tables in the city's main hospital.

Although violence has been sharply reduced during the cease-fire, there were still occasional rocket blasts and bursts of gunfire Saturday as reminders that hostilities are not yet over.

Indeed, word that the 1,200 French troops are to leave Sunday after evacuating 5,501 people from other countries brought protests from many in this former French colony.

Hopes high that French troops will remain

"If they leave, there will be a terrible battle for the airport," said Hellot Mampouya, a spokesman for Kolelas. "The cease-fire would be ruined, and there would be nothing to preserve the gains from negotiations. We really need our French friends to stay, at least to dissuade a return to fighting. They can't abandon us."

Hooks warned that the French pullout could lead to an all-out battle for the airport. If airport security cannot be guaranteed, Hooks said he and the 12 other embassy personnel in Brazzaville would consider closing the embassy and leaving.

French Ambassador Raymond Cesaire admitted the French pullout "poses certain problems," but hinted at more French involvement in the future. The evacuation, he said, "does not prevent us from thinking about how to maintain political stability and prepare for elections."

French

Sahnoun said he would try to talk France into changing its mind, saying the airport should be secured until the situation in the city returns to normal.

Officially, France's role has been neutral, although some believe it has backed Lissouba's Zulu militias against the Cobra rebels.

Another militia has emerged as well, this one calling itself the Ninjas. It promises to fight anyone attacking the heavily populated working-class suburb of Bacongo.

All parties want election to proceed

The tension began in 1979 when Sassou-Nguesso was named president of the Republic of Congo without a formal election. In 1990, he yielded to pressure for multiparty politics and was knocked out in the first round of the 1992 poll, which Lissouba eventually won.

Both are candidates for the presidency in the July 27 election, and their rivalry exploded into violence June 5 when Lissouba sent government forces to disarm Sassou-Nguesso's private Cobra militia.

Lissouba said he was acting to avoid violence before the elections. Sassou-Nguesso claims Lissouba was trying to spark clashes as an excuse to avoid the election and remain president.

Kolelas' supporters were in the thick of fighting in 1993 over disputed parliamentary elections that killed at least 2,000 people. But his supporters appear to have stayed clear of the fighting this time.

Kolelas, Lissouba and Sassou-Nguesso have all indicated they want the presidential elections to go ahead as scheduled.

Seven-point truce plan drawn up

On Friday, Kolelas and 13 other members of a mediation committee with representatives of the two sides and other political factions drew up a seven-point plan to consolidate the truce.

It calls for gunmen to hand in their weapons at special collection sites, roadblocks manned by gunmen to be dismantled, aid workers to be allowed safe passage to collect corpses from the streets and tend to wounded, and hospitals and other public services to resume operations.

There was no immediate word, however, on how or when the plan would be implemented.

Correspondent Catherine Bond, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  
rule
CNN Plus

Related stories:

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

  
Search for related CNN stories:
  [Help]
Tip: You can restrict your search to the title of a document. Infoseek grfk

Example: title:New Year's Resolutions

rule
Message Boards

Sound off on our message boards

 Tell us what you think!

You said it...
rule

To the top

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.