Vol 39 No 4 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCONGO-KINSHASA More contras 20th February 1998 As French troops prepare to leave on 6 April, several hundred of the late President Mobutu Sese Seko’s Division Spéciale Présidentielle have joined forces with CAR ex-President André...
Vol 38 No 25 | CONGO-KINSHASA Best friends, friends and foes 19th December 1997 With little foreign aid to rebuild the country's shattered economy, the Kabila government will have to rely on private capital The project to reconstruct Central Africa is moving painfully slowly and with very little money, over six months after the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime spurred hopes...
Vol 38 No 24 | CONGO-KINSHASA Kabila's banker 5th December 1997 A brass plaque outside the smart new offices of the Banque de Commerce et de Développementin Kinshasa's main street, Boulevard du 30- Juin, proclaims that they were opened...
Vol 38 No 22 | ANGOLACONGO-BRAZZAVILLE Regional circle 7th November 1997 Luanda's regional strategy to isolate and encircle Jonas Savimbi and his União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola forces took further shape with President J José...
Vol 38 No 22 | CHAD On fire 7th November 1997 There have been rebellious stirrings again, enough to send President Idriss Déby scurrying off to Taiwan in search of a reward for recognising China's rival last June. A...
Vol 38 No 21 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE A dictator returns 24th October 1997 General Sassou fights his way back to power in Brazzaville and gets a tacit welcome from Paris and perhaps Washington Fresh from his military defeat of the elected President, Pascal Lissouba, on 15 October, General Denis Sassou Nguesso told Africa Confidential that he would follow a policy of...
Vol 38 No 21 | CAMEROON Biya's bad joke 24th October 1997 The opposition’s boycott handed the ruling party a landslide It took the government three days to produce partial preliminary results for the presidential election of 12 October. The only surprise was the scale of the victory claimed...
Vol 38 No 20 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC French leave 10th October 1997 As Paris ends military aid for Patasse, he turns to France's bogeyman – Laurent Kabila On 23 September, a team from France's Defence Ministry arrived in Bangui to prepare the French troop withdrawal. The team, led by General Serge Sabathe and still in...
Vol 38 No 20 | CAMEROON No show 10th October 1997 The three main parliamentary opposition parties are boycotting the 12 October presidential election because none can agree to work with the others. The parties are John Fru Ndi's...
Vol 38 No 19 | CONGO-KINSHASAUNITED STATES Washington quandary 29th September 1997 The US government juggles carrot and stick while business scoops a mineral map Should the United States and other potential donors make economic assistance conditional upon whether the new Congo government allows the United Nations' inquiry into refugee massacres to proceed?...