TAKEN FROM NEWSPAPERS IN THE UK AND AFRICA Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have thrown more than 60000 men into a general offensive, insurgent military sources said on Tuesday. The coalition supporting President Laurent Kabila also confirmed the offensive. "The big general offensive against Kinshasa has begun on three fronts," an officer of the rebel general staff said by satellite telephone from rebel military headquarters in Kisangani, in northeastern Orientale province. "We have sent so many units into action that it is difficult to say how many men are fighting, but in any case they number more than 60000 in all," the officer said. Insurgent officers in Kisangani said they had taken delivery of an assortment of new weapons, including mortars, missiles and shells. The three fronts are in the north, in Equateur province, where the rebels' next objective is Mbandaka, some 600 kilometres (350 miles) north of Kinshasa; the centre, where the insurgents hope to capture Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of diamond-rich Kasai Oriental province; and the southeast, where their objective is Lubumbashi, the country's second city and capital of Katanga province, rich in copper and cobalt. In Harare, Zimbabwe's government-controlled media on Monday quoted a Southern African Development Community (SADC) Task Force Headquarters statement as saying the rebel offensive was most intense in the north and Southeast. SADC members Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia along with Chad have troops in the DRC in support of Kabila. Efforts to broker a peace in the DRC have repeatedly collapsed because Kabila and his allies refuse to negotiate directly with rebel leaders, accusing them of being mere puppets of Uganda and Rwanda. Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who is the chief mediator in the conflict, is still trying to arrange a regional summit for the signing of a ceasefire agreement. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have deployed troops in the DRC at the request of that country's head of state. The Angolan forces in the DRC, estimated at about 2,500, have recaptured Kitona and Matada, two strategic coastal cities for rebel reinforcements and logistic supplies. THE Zimbabwe government on Thursday sent two heavily armed battalions to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the face of mounting causalities, bringing the number of Zimbabwean soldiers in the Congo to 2800. A unit of tanks and Cascavel armoured vehicles had been flown to the Congo. All the troops and equipment were transported to the DRC from Manyame airbase by Angola's Russian-made troop carriers. The Airforce of Zimbabwe's Alouette helicopters and Cassa planes were also in the DRC to help in the war effort. Rico Visser, intelligence officer for the Pretoria-based military firm Executive Outcomes (EO), told a small group of journalists last weekend that EO is involved in an operation to restore electricity to Kinshasa, which is powered from the Inga Dam, south-west of the capital. After the port of Matadi on the Congo river, Inga Dam is one of the most strategic points on the western front of the month-old war in the Congo. It is held by Rwandan-backed rebel forces who seized it two weeks ago and is central to their strategy to reclaim Kinshasa and topple Kabila. Operations launched by an EO-led military force are likely to oust the rebels from Inga Dam, and significantly reduce their military chances of winning the war. And this week scores of South Africans arrived with more than 100 white, French-speaking troops in Kabila's home stronghold of Lubumbashi, eyewitnesses said. Their corporate identity is not yet known but they were reportedly hired to defend strategic points outskirting the southern mining capital before an expected rebel attack, security sources say. The rebels claims to have shot down two Zimbabwian fighters. At Kinshasa Airport (which was supposed to be under attack by the rebels yesterday). A Bae Hawk 100 with Mk82 bombs was seen taxiing prior to takeoff. The pilot was waving its hand. Zimbabwe also has Mig 21 (or Shenyang F-7 if you prefer their real identity), some Hawker Hunter. No sign of these at the airport. If Ouganda or Rwanda intervene with fighters (one may wonder if they do have some in flying conditions), things may begin to be interesting. As for Angola, no trace of its Mig 17, Mig 21, Mig 23 and SU-22 (or Mil-24). It seems that Angola is just interested in securing the shore line of Congo which link its territory with the enclave of Cabinda further north. This move is reported being to reassure the oil industry that security is complete. It is speculated that Angola may even keep the territory it occupies, whatever government is finally in place in Kinshasa. The Congolese airforce is supposed to have 4 Mirage 5 in inventory. I don't think they are in flying condition (Congo may not have the pilot to fly them...). Gabon, a small nation (with a lot of oil and uranium) is located just beside this potentially dangerous war zone. Their airforce has about 10 Mirage 5 in inventory, all flown by French pilots from the Armee de l'air. Air superiority, if it comes to that, belongs to Angola. Back to Frontline Vol. 1 Iss. 3 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com