Tuesday January 16 5:46 PM ET
Congo's Kabila Reported Dead
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - President Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of
Congo died on Tuesday after being shot by one of his bodyguards, Belgian
Foreign Minister Louis Michel said.Michel was quoted by the Belga news agency
as saying news of Kabila's death had been confirmed by two reliable
sources.He said Kabila was apparently shot by one of his bodyguards in the
presence of army generals whom he had dismissed.Foreign Ministry spokesman
Koen Vervaeke said Kabila died after being hit by two bullets. ``The
circumstances are too confused to know more,'' Vervaeke told Reuters.In the
Congo capital Kinshasa, a source close to the presidency had earlier said
that Kabila had been shot and seriously wounded by one of his bodyguards. The
source said Kabila had been flown to hospital in Kinshasa by helicopter.The
Democratic Republic of Congo's ambassador to Belgium had said earlier on
Tuesday that Kabila was alive.Interviewed on Belgium's RTBF radio, Ambassador
Albert Kisonga Mazakala threw no light on what had happened in Kinshasa, but
said the situation was under the control of the authorities.``According to
the information I have, the president is alive. There is no need for concern
about his health,'' he said.
Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut joined Michel for a meeting to assess
the situation, Belga reported.Kabila took power in the mineral-rich former
Belgian colony of Zaire in 1997, ousting veteran dictator Mobutu Sese Seko
after a seven-month rebellion with the backing of Rwanda and Uganda.Kabila
later fell out with his former allies, who now back rebels controlling most
of the north and east of Africa's third largest country.
