Evening star., 1961-12-17
Tshombe F|ees Tottering Capital
But He Vows to Continue His Fiqht
Continued From Page Al

JeepS rOQe Cne SCreeUS Trying
to rally them. The officers even
called on male refugees in the
Leopold II Hotel to join the
fighting.
All direct communications
were cut between Elisabethville
and the outside world. News
men carrying dispatches out to
Rhodesia reported white mer-
cenaries feverishly fortifying
positions south of the capital,
apparently for another stand.
Camp Massert, recently re-
named Camp Tshombe, was
captured by three Swedish COM
panies who broke the resistance
Of $50 Katangan defenders, the
United Nations announced.
The United Nations asserted
no Swedish troops were killed
but five were wounded in storm
ing the camp. 1t was considered
the last stronghold of the Ka-
tanga gendarmerie-a semi
military police unit-in Elisa
bethville.
Earlier in the day, two other
strongholdS fell, U. N. reports
said.
Swedish and Irish troops cap
tured the railroad tunnel COM
manding the main road into
the city from the eastern sub
urbs after a night of heavy
fighting.
ON the western outskirts. U.
N. forces captured the Lido
Hotel and golf course COM
manding another important
road. The U. N. said four Eth
opian soldiers were killed and
FIVE wounded. Five Katangan
soldiers were found dead at
the hotel, killed by mortar
fire.
u. N. Gurkhas were fighting
to dislodge Katangan forces
from a small woods 200 yards
from Mr.. Tshombe's residence,
itself a stronghold in the early
fighting. United States and
British consulates are near this
sector.
Katangans Hold Center
THUS, beside holding the
northern part of the Katangan
capital, U. N. forces also COM
rnand approaches to the city
from the east and west.
tKatanganS held only the CEN
ter of the city-with the Leo
pold II Hotel almost in the
front lines-and the southern
section.
The Queen Elisabeth Hos
pital, near the front, was re-
ported damaged by mortar fire,
Fhe hospital has given the only
reports of casualties thus far,
s. Katangan soldiers killed and
at wounded and % civilians,
killed and 156 wounded.
In Leopoldville, capital of
the central Congo government.
a U. N. spokesman declared
only military targets are being
attacked in the fight against
secesSionist Katanga. Province.
While the Katangan authori-
ties charge the fight is being
waged to end Katanga's seces-
sion from the central govern
ment, the spokesman insisted:
Our purpose continued to be
to insure our freedom of move
ment and to protect the civilian
residents of Elisabethville from
the danger of further Katanga
attacks"
Diplomatic Efforts Continue
Diplomatic efforts persisted
to bring Mr.. Tshombe to terms.
United States officials said
American Ambassador Edmund
A.. Gullion is waiting to confer
With Premier Cyrille Adoula of
the central government before
making an approach ITO Mr..
Tshombe. Mr.. Adoula has been
out of the city.
Mr.. Gullion was designated
by President Kennedy as his
special representative in at
tefnpts to solve the Congo dis
pute after Mr.. Tshombe ap-
pealed to the President to help
arrange cease fire.
In Vatican City, Pope John
iXXIII, to whom Mr.. Tshombe
also appealed, issued a message
urging world leaders to bring
peace to the Congo.
I'VE turn to all who can and
should, with disinterested coun-
sci, objective information and
the light of right, cooperate
t9 establish peace in that coun-
try, to prepare tranquil and
serene days for ALL" the Pope's
statement said.
Although military action
seemed to give the United Ma
tions the upper hand in dealing
with the Katanga resistance, it
was too soon to say that this
resistance has ended.
Some now expect the United
Nations to press its advantage
within Elisabethville. clearing
out last pockets of resistance.
But they believe fighting will
still have to continue in other
Katanga power centers, notably
Jadotville and Kolwezi to the
LOST