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UN Peacekeepers Free Ally of DRC's President from Rival Soldiers
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&c=666511&l=1009&ctl=1495C6B:A6F02AD83191E16016DCAC6639A962CF9574F7DCC14957C0 Mobutu Nzanga was
campaigning for Joseph Kabila Thursday, when fighters loyal to
presidential challenger Jean Pierre Bemba surrounded station





Supporters of President Joseph Kabila chant slogans in Kinshasa, 26
October 2006An ally of Congolese President Joseph Kabila has been
freed from a radio station where he was trapped by soldiers loyal to
the president's rival.

United Nations peacekeepers freed Francois Mobutu Nzanga from his
makeshift prison in the northern town of Gbadolite Friday.

The incident has raised tensions ahead of Sunday's runoff to determine
the Democratic Republic of Congo's next president.

Mobutu Nzanga was campaigning for Mr. Kabila on Thursday when fighters
loyal to presidential challenger Jean Pierre Bemba surrounded the
station. A gunbattle between Motutu Nzanga's bodyguards and the Bemba
forces killed at least four people.

Concerns about such violence have forced Mr. Bemba and Mr. Kabila to
limit their campaigning in this, the second round of elections.

On Thursday, Bemba cancelled a mass rally planned for tFriday in the
capital, Kinshasa, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

Mr. Kabila won the first round of voting with 45 percent, a few points
short of the majority needed for victory.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

 


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