New Offensive? No, says RCD; Yes, says Bemba

The rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) this week denied mounting a new offensive against the DRC government and its allies (Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Chad) but a second rebel group, the ‘Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo’ (MLC) said it had stepped up its fight against the government, wire services reported yesterday. The DPA quoted RCD leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba as saying that it was his troops that had been being bombarded by the allies. He said they were continuing their advance, but denied that they had launched a new offensive whose objective included capturing a string of key towns stretching from Lubumbashi in the south to Gbadolite in the north-western province of Equateur.

However, rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba said his MLC had launched an offensive about a week ago on various fronts and aimed to take Gbadolite, according to AFP. The news agency also quoted Bemba as saying that his advance troops were 120 km from the town and that pitched battles were being fought daily.