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Thumbnail sketches of key players
in the Zairian conflict
Kabila LAURENT DESIRE KABILA

Kabila is leader of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, whose forces have taken about half of Zaire since the autumn of 1996. Kabila was a follower of nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba, Zaire's first prime minister. He is from the Luba group Mulubakat in the mineral-rich Shaba province.



MOBUTU SESE SEKO

A military coup in 1965 installed Mobutu as president of Zaire, which he has ruled with an iron hand. Mobutu, a member of the ethnic Ngbandi group in Equatoria province, was in Europe recovering from surgery when rebels began their offensive last fall. He returned to Zaire on March 21, 1997.



ETIENNE TSHISEKEDI

Tshisekedi was named prime minister April 2, 1997, but angered Mobutu the next day by dismissing parliament and offering six cabinet posts to rebels, who rejected the offer. Mobutu fired him a week later. The relationship between the two men had long been troubled. Tshisekedi, a member of the Luba tribe from West Kasai province, broke with Mobutu in 1980 and formed the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. He also served as prime minister in 1992 and 1993, but was toppled both times after clashes with Mobutu.



GEN. LIKULIA BOLONGO

Mobutu named Likulia prime minister soon after the rebel uprising. Likulia, Mobutu's army chief of staff, was defense minister and deputy prime minister in the government of Leon Kengo wa Dondo, who resigned as prime minister in March 1997. Likulia is from Mobutu's home district.



LEON KENGO WA DONDO

Kengo was appointed prime minister in 1994 and resigned on March 24, 1997, after Mobutu supported a parliamentary vote of no confidence against him. Kengo's appointment was aimed at strengthening ties with the West, but his downfall came because in political circles he was seen as responsible for the failure of the Zairian (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) army to stop rebel advances.



FOCUS: CONFLICT IN ZAIRE

ANATOMY OF A CRISIS  ·  KEY FACTS  ·  ESSAY ON ZAIRE

CAST OF CHARACTERS  ·  QUIZ
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