Kinshasa under fire!

Gunfights in the street outside the main gate of campus last night!
Outgoing and incoming artillery fire, AK47 going clack-clack-clack in
the early hours, and apparently some dead assailants at our front
gate. There was one artillery round that landed quite close (rattled
the house), and a LOT of machine gun fire within a few hundred meters
of the school. The news this morning says there was an attack on the
army base which borders our north wall, and there is still gunfire
downtown.

We're packing our 'Go Bags' as I write this, and the possiblity exists
that, if this escalates, we will be evacuated. I don't think those of
us at the school are in any targeted danger, but our proximity to the
base makes us possible candidates for collateral damage. We could see
the flame trails of the rockets going overhead last night, and I did
see one person trot across the open field behind my house, immediately
followed by loud automatic weapons fire in the spot where he ran to.
He might have been a campus guard, or he might have even been a
resident changing locations. Impossible to know, but the campus is on
full lock-down today, and things have quieted down since 4 this
morning when it was a battle zone. Last night it was a full-on
military battle, with exchanges of AK47 fire, incoming artillery, and
explosions in the distance.

I'll keep you all informed. This is kinda exciting. :-)

--riverman

On 28 Mar 2004 02:54:29 -0800, (riverman) wrote:

I'll keep you all informed. This is kinda exciting. :-)

Take care Myron, there is such a thing as too much excitement you
know.
--
Charlie...

riverman wrote:

Gunfights in the street ...

If it was me there'd be a bunch of kids getting their algebra
lessons via correspondence course. ;-)

Keep your head down, Myron.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Charlie Choc" wrote in message
...
On 28 Mar 2004 02:54:29 -0800, (riverman) wrote:

I'll keep you all informed. This is kinda exciting. :-)

Take care Myron, there is such a thing as too much excitement you
know.


That's for sure. Now that the sun is up, it feels safer (last night, in the
dark, it was a bit scary) but no one knows what will be happening tonight.
The government is contradicting itself (of course) with its claims that 'the
uprising is under control' and 'there is still sporadic fighting downtown'.
Parents are calling, saying that their respective embassies are telling them
to stay home, stay down. The rumor mill is refining the stories: apparently
a rebel faction associated with one of the Vice Presidents is trying to
destabilize the government. There were 4 simultaneous attacks on military
bases last night, one of which was outside our gates. According to a contact
in the South African embassy who lives by the river, some political
prisoners were broken out of jail last night and a small force attacked the
UN compound. I don't know the truth of either of those stories, but a high
contact in the US embassy said that the assailants were associated with one
of the VPs who was a Mobutu sympathizer. If so, this might be the start of
something big.

M

"Frank Reid" wrote in message
...
I'll keep you all informed. This is kinda exciting. :-)

--riverman

Exciting sucks. Keep your head down.


Oh yeah. No worries there, Frank. Its one thing to face down some soldiers
rolling you for a few hundred dollars. Its quite another being out and about
during an armed coup. I'll be meekly following whereever the guys in the
white hats point me to go.

--riverman

I'll keep you all informed. This is kinda exciting. :-)

--riverman

Exciting sucks. Keep your head down.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

Damn!

The story is already on BBC (they have a reporter in the town). The
report said that there was one dead soldier and two wounded. It was
supposedly a coup attempt.

Whenever the bullets are flying by, I suggest that you think about all
the upcoming fishing trips and keep you head down.

--
Jarmo Hurri

Commercial email countermeasures included in header email
address. Remove all garbage from header email address when replying,
or just use .

"Jarmo Hurri" wrote in message
...

Damn!

The story is already on BBC (they have a reporter in the town). The
report said that there was one dead soldier and two wounded. It was
supposedly a coup attempt.

Whenever the bullets are flying by, I suggest that you think about all
the upcoming fishing trips and keep you head down.



The 'official' word is one dead soldier, one wounded. But there was
apparently one casualty outside my school (our guards reported seeing it),
and another downtown by the South African embassy. Apparently, one of the
VPs is connected to this.

And just now, as I'm writing this, a round of heavy artillery just went off
at the camp across the street. Any idea the name of the BBC reporter in
town?

--riverman

riverman And just now, as I'm writing this, a round of heavy
riverman artillery just went off at the camp across the street.

Riverman reporting from a foxhole?

riverman Any idea the name of the BBC reporter in town?

It's Arnaud Zajtman.

--
Jarmo Hurri

Commercial email countermeasures included in header email
address. Remove all garbage from header email address when replying,
or just use .

riverman wrote:

Apparently, one of the
VPs is connected to this.

Don't worry, then. Halliburton will soon be on the scene.