- Title: CONGO: FRESH FIGHTING ERUPTS IN BRAZZAVILLE
- Date: 24th June 1997
- Summary: ** QUALITY AS INCOMING ** BRAZZAVILLE, CONGO (JUNE 24, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV EXTERIOR FRENCH EMBASSY, AUDIO OF SHOOTING AND MORTARS 0.17 BRAZZAVILLE, CONGO (JUNE 25, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 2. LV OF SOLDIERS (UNKNOWN) WANDERING AROUND EMBASSY (2 SHOTS) 0.39 3. SV FRENCH EMBASSY GUARD BEHIND SAND BAGS 0.43 4. SV (UNKNOWN) SOLDIER RUNNING ALONG COMPOUND FENCE/ FRENCH EMBASSY GUARD WATCHING (2 SHOTS) 0.50 BRAZZAVILLE, CONGO (JUNE 24, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 5. SV/SLV FRENCH EMBASSY/ VARIOUS OF FRENCH EMBASSY GUARDS WALKING AROUND EMBASSY, ENTERING WITH WEAPONS (3 SHOTS) 1.10 6. SLV FRENCH EMBASSY GUARD WATCHING FROM BEHIND RAILINGS 1.14 7. LV ARMOURED VEHICLE DRIVING PAST EMBASSY/ DEAD BODY LYING IN ROAD (2 SHOTS) 1.28 8. LV BUILDING, AUDIO HEAVY FIGHTING/ ABANDONED CAR, AUDIO FIGHTING (2 SHOTS) 1.50 9. LV ABANDONED CAR IN DESERTED STREET 1.56 Initials P3/2 S3 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 9th July 1997 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BRAZZAVILE, CONGO
- City:
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Reuters ID: LVACNIV78Z0BPVK1988BXOR838XJ
- Story Text: Fresh fighting has erupted in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville, with shells slamming into the city centre and a landmark hotel by the Congo river.
On Tuesday, France's ambassador to Congo, the only foreign emissary left in battle-torn Brazzaville, got stuck in his embassy as a new shooting match erupted outside.
Ambassador Raymond Cesaire, whose 30 gendarmes are the only foreign force in the city, had earlier done the rounds of the fighting parties and other key figures on Tuesday (June 24) as he pressed on with so far fruitless efforts to restore a proper peace.
One mortar shell landed about 100 metres (yards) from the embassy in the disputed heart of the capital beside the Congo river before the fighting subsided and calm returned.
For almost a week a "ceasefire" has held -- though to anyone not witness to the relentless bombardments that preceded it, the truce seemed more like a war.
Mortar shells landed around the French embassy on Wednesday (June 25) in the same area that is controlled by the forces of President Pascal Lissouba. They appeared to come from the north, controlled by his rival, former military leader Denis Sassou Nguesso.
A charter airline pilot due to fly into Brazzaville on Wednesday cancelled the flight, saying it seemed that Sassou's forces were battling to gain control of the airport.
A shaky week-old ceasefire dampened but failed to stop clashes between the two sides, whose 12 days of battles erupted on June 5 and have left some 1,000 to 3,000 people dead.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
