Loyal Amin Nubians hold invaders on outskirts of Kampala

Press, 10 April 1979, Page 8

Loyal Amin Nubians hold invaders on outskirts of Kampala

International

NZPA-Reuter

Nairobi

The rumble of fierce artillery duels reverberated across the Ugandan capital of Kampala at the week-end while troops loyal to President Idi Amin put up unexpected resistance to a final assault by I anzanian and Ugandan rebel forces.

Residents reported heavy fighting throughout Saturday and Sunday. One diplomat described shelling after dark on Saturday as the first real night of war the city had experienced since the conflict began five months ago.

Diplomatic sources said that Field-Marshal Amin had brought the Bondo Battalion of Nubians from his home area west of the Nile to hold the line south of Kampala and replace some 1000 Libyan troops who flew home on Saturday. Fighting was concentrated on the Lubowa coffee plantation 8 km south of Kampala on the road to the rebel-held town and international airport of Entebbe. But mortar bombs also

crashed into soldier’s billets at Makarere University in north-western Kampala.

Residents saw soldiers fleeing from seriously damaged buildings and said it was the first time the war had come so close to them on that side of the city. The diplomatic sources said President Amin’s decision to bring down his reserve battalion suggested he intended to make his final stand at the capital rather than in the north.

The sources said invading forces had brought the whole of western Uganda under their control after capturing the town of Fort Portal, close to the Zaire border, as part of their mopping up drive.

They said Algeria had apparently been active in trying to persuade Libya to scale down its support for President Amin’s regime. This was partly because Tanzania was the latest African State to recognise the republic proclaimed 1 by Algerian-backed Polisario guerrillas fighting against the Moroccan and Mauritanian partition of the former Spanish Sahara, the sources said.

Although the Ugandan National Liberation Front said last week it had Kampala surrounded, the battle for the city seemed likely to take longer than they had expected. President Amin has not been seen since he appeared in the eastern industrial town of Jinja on Saturday evening.