Friday, Jul. 21, 1967
One Down, One to Go
One of Africa's new rebellions ended with a fizzle last week while the other showed signs of stubborn persistence and could go on for weeks. sb THE CONGO. The revolt against the Congolese government of General Joseph Mobutu by white mercenaries whom Mobutu himself had hired turned out to be largely a hit-and-run affair. Some 180 mercenaries of French Colonel "Bob" Denard's 6th Commandos, supported by Katanganese soldiers of the Congo army, moved into six towns, the most important being Bukavu and Kisangani. After several brief clashes with Mobutu's advancing regulars, the mercenaries last week commandeered 27 trucks and retreated toward the safety of interior Punia, halfway between Bukavu and Kisangani. Another mercenary, Major Jean Schramm, is in control there, and can help the rebels escape to Angola or Rhodesia.
Just why Denard's men revolted against Mobutu is far from clear. The kidnaping of former Premier Moise Tshombe, whom many of the mercenaries had once served, was perhaps one motive. More likely, the mercenaries, who had not been paid for a while, suspected that Mobutu was about to send them packing. So they decided to take something with them. If that theory is correct, the rebels did not do badly. The two days in which they held the town of Bukavu enabled them to pillage the local bank of several million dollars' worth of zaires, Mobutu's newly created currency for use in the Congo.
sb NIGERIA. Far more serious, and likely to last far longer, is the battle between the Nigerian Federal Government of Major General Yakubu Gowon and the energetic Ibos of Eastern Nigeria, led by Lieut. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, who declared their independence two months ago and proclaimed the Republic of Biafra. Since federal troops attacked the dissidents two weeks ago, both sides have tried to keep foreign observers out of the battle zones, enabling each to report glowing daily accounts of success in the fighting.
"We'll try to wrap it up by Christmas," said a federal officer, conceding that the "police action," as Lagos refers to its battle against the secessionists, may be a prolonged affair. Meanwhile Gowon's troops seemed to be making slow but steady progress in pushing the Ibos back into their own territory.
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