sources: ACP, NCN, Africa News Online, Le Soir
- A conference of the Congolese civil society and political opponents takes place in Montreal, Canada, with members of the UDPS, PALU, PDSC, FONUS, MNC-L, CNR and churches, and with observers of the Canadian government, African ngo'þ and African states. Neither the rebels nor the Congolese government are represented. Some resolutions are: participation of civil society and opposition in the peace consultations, a national Round Table Conference and the stationing of a peacekeeping force of 20 000 troops.
-Kabila promulgates a decree that admits the organisation of political parties.
-From Bangui (Central African Republic) is reported that Congolese troops are passing the CAR frontier on the run for the rebels, who are fighting in Equateur.
-Deogratias Bugera, one of the foremen of the rebel movement, has formed a new movement: Mouvement des Reformatoires.
-Five journalists of the Congolese journal Le Potentiel have been arrested in Kinshasa. They had critisized some aspects of the new political parties decree. Some days later, they were released. Also arrested were Joseph Kapika, porte-parole of the UDPS, and Mungul Diaka, a former Mobutu minister.
-Howard Wolpe, the US envoy to the Great Lakes region, visiting Windhoek, says to expect that soon an agreement will be reached. Wolpe, who also visited Uganda, Angola and Kenya, argued that no party believes in a military solution.
-The civil society of South Kivu reported the preparation of war on a large scale. Rwanda is sending tanks and troops to Bukavu and Uvira, the Banyamulenge have withdrawn to the plateaus.
-The UN rapporteur for Human Rights in Congo, mr Roberto Garreton, will make a visit of a week to Kinshasa and Goma from 16 February.
-Combat aircrafts of Kabila and his allies have executed
bombardments on towns occupied by the rebels in Central and East
Congo in order to counteract the advance of the rebels. It
concerns the towns Kibombo and Ngunzu in Maniema, and Kabalo and
Lubao in North-Katanga.
In the North, in Equateur fightings are taking place between the
rebels of Bemba (the MLC) and troops of Kabila government. The
stake of these fightings is the town Businga which is in the
hands of Kabila. Allegedly 10.000 Congolese have in the flight
crossed the frontier with the CAR.
-Kabilas allies, Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe reportedly are involved in battles around Kabalo in Katanga and near Moba at the Lake Tanganyika. According to them the rebels, Uganda and Rwanda have been acting contradictionary to the peace consultations, by recruiting massively and investing in new high-tech weapons.
-Kabila visited Khartoem, the capital of Sudan.
-Finance minister Mawampanga planned to raise the governmental budget and to stimulate the economy. Some twenty projects should be taken up: a.o. the refining-works of SOCIR, adjustment of the fuel price, production of asphalt, diamond exploitation by the government and agricultural projects like coffee, cocoa, palm oil and cattle farming. The governmental financial institutions have to be improved by data processing. The costs could be carried up by raising of the domestic production.
- South African journal Mail & Guardian reports that Angola withdrawn the main part of his troops from the Congo. These troops are now necessary to combat Unita, that is besieging the Angolan town Mbanza Congo, 200 km east of petrol centre Soyo.
-President Chiluba of Zambia, returning from a visit to Malawi, says that a solution is coming. In Malawi he has spoken with his colleague Mikili Muluzi.
-Wamba dia Wamba, leader of the RCD, said that his rebel movement
is financed by the Belgian government and also recieves support
of other Western countries. His movement further relies on $ 5
million monthly of gold export to Europe via Uganda.
Rebel foreman Zahidi Ngoma has left the RCD and has founded a new
movement, the Union des Congolais pour la Paix.
- The EU has offered to help with the reconstruction of Congo as soon as there has come an effective end to the fightings.
-The Zambian National Commercial Bank has opened an office in Lubumbashi.
-Kabila has dissolved his cabinet. Before long a new government will be formed.
-The peace efforts are continued with a summit of heads of state in Yaounde (Cameron). President Kabila is present as well as several other leaders of African states. At this meeting the formation of a Peace and Security Council (COPAX) by the UN advisory committee for security in Central Africa was announced.
-The president of Mocambique, mr Chissano, is visiting Kampala and Kinshasa.
-On 20 February the EU-envoy Aldo Ajello has had a talk with president Museveni of Uganda.
-On 25 february a report has been published by Human Rights Watch: Both the Congolese government and the rebels are commiting serious human rights abuses.
- Every day between 150 and 200 Congolese take refuge to Tanzania. Since the start of the war more than 35.000 Congolese have sought asylum in that country.
-A source in South-Kivu, the Source Independante du Congo, says
that Rwandan troops are performing operations in Kivu. Mid-
February several villages have been attacked, a.o. Ngweshi,
houses are burnt down and people killed. The Rwandans allegedly
want control over the mines of Kamituga.
In North-Kivu the Rushuru region is very unsafe. Insecurity is
caused by Hutu and Interahamwe as well as by Tutsi soldiers from
Rwanda. According to sources in North-Kivu it concerns armed
robbery, incendiarism and massive killings.
-The Kabila coalition has opened an attack on Kindu, Maniema, which is occupied by the rebels since October. The defense of Mbuyi-Mayi, East-Kasai, is in the hands of troops from Chad, Zimbabwe, Namibia en groups of Hutu military.
-About 8 to 10.000 Congolese are reported to have fled to Brazzaville because of fightings in Equateur.
-In the town Bolobo, at the borders of the Congo river between Kinshasa and Mbandaka, a new rebel movement has been formed: the Union des Nationalistes Republicains. It is led by ex-officers of Mobutu's DSP.
-In Cape Town president Mandela has met Mugabe and Nujomo.
-The rebels are conducting a new offensive near Pweto, a city in North-Katanga at the Lake Mweru. Thousands of Congolese are fleeing in the direction of Zambia.
-Intense fightings are taking place on several locations in North- Katanga and West of Kindu.
-UNHCR mentions that since 4 March about 5000 Congolese have fled to Zambia. The number of refugees from Congo to Tanzania since the beginning of the war is 42.283.
chronicle 9, september 29 -october 12 1997
chronicle 10, october 13 - october 26 1997
chronicle 11, october 27 - november 9, 1997
chronicle 12, november 10 -november 23 1997
chronicle 13, november 24 -december 7 1997
chronicle 14, december 8 1997 - january 4 1998
chronicle 15, january 5 - january 18 1998
chronicle 16, january 19 - february 1 1998
chronicle 17, february 2 - february 15 1998
chronicle 18, february 16 - march 1 1998
chronicle 19, march 2 - march 15 1998
chronicle 20, march 16 - march 29 1998
chronicle 21, march 30 - april 26 1998
chronicle 22, april 27 - mei 10 1998
chronicle 23, mei 11 - mei 31 1998
chronicle 24, juni 1 - august 26 1998
chronicle 25, august 27 - september 28 1998
chronicle 26,september 29- october 31 1998
chronicle 27, november 1- december 5 1998
chronicle 28, december 6 - january 24 1999