U.S. envoy: Zaire president, rebel leader to meet Friday

April 30, 1997

Web posted at: 1:45 p.m. EDT (0545 GMT)

Latest developments:

LUBUMBASHI, Zaire (CNN) -- After several false starts, it appears face-to-face talks between Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko and rebel leader Laurent Kabila will indeed take place. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson says the two men will meet on Friday at sea, aboard a South African naval vessel.

The two adversaries agreed Tuesday to a meeting but could not agree on a location. Kabila had favored a meeting aboard a South African ship, while Mobutu wanted to meet in Gabon. Now it seems that a compromise has been struck -- Richardson Wednesday said the South African ship would set sail from Libreville, Gabon, and then head into international waters.

"This is a historic occasion that hopefully will lead to peace in Zaire," Richardson told reporters after meeting with Mobutu in the capital Wednesday.

Mobutu's son, Nzanga Mobutu, had said that the government had "agreed to talks in Gabon." But Kabila had said he would not go to Gabon for security reasons.

U.S. envoy criticizes rebels

Before leaving for Kinshasa, Richardson had harsh words for the rebels' human rights record.

"So far, we are disappointed," he said. "They must do better."

Richardson and aid agencies have been concerned about the disappearance of several thousand Rwandan refugees from camps in territory now controlled by the rebels.

Amid mounting evidence of massacres, the ambassador assured Kabila during his meeting that anyone found responsible for killing refugees would be punished.

Refugee airlift begins

Kabila earlier issued a 60-day deadline for the refugees to return home but told Richardson he was ready to be flexible. An airlift took the first refugees out of Kisangani Wednesday.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. refugee agency took 186 children to Rwanda in the first evacuation and hoped to move 400 more before nightfall.

The agency has complained that it is not possible to evacuate all the refugees in 60 days, and that the rebels have not been cooperative with their efforts.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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