(31 Mar 1997) Natural Sound
Two support planes have landed in the Congo ahead of a party of 40 British marines who will be on standby to evacuate U-K nationals from Zaire if the situation deteriorates.
The British initiative was prompted by the continued advance of rebel forces towards the capital Kinshasa.
They join more than five-hundred U-S troops who have arrived in Brazzaville during the past 10 days.
The second giant Hercules cargo plane touched down in Brazzaville on Monday.
It was laden with military hardware - ranging from guns and ammunition to mini- hovercrafts.
The troops themselves, from the "Four Two" commando unit in Plymouth, will be flown in late Monday and early Tuesday.
Their stated mission is simply to monitor events across the border in Zaire.
Several countries, including Belgium and the U-S, are now poised to pull their nationals out if the situation there deteriorates.
The British initiative was prompted by the continued advance of rebel forces towards the capital Kinshasa.
But military experts fear that there could be violence in the city before the rebels even arrive.
Many Zairians now see the rebel leader Laurent Kabila as a liberating hero rather than an aggressive invader.
The British Marines have been briefed of the possibility of a coup against the increasingly unpopular Zairean President Mobutu.
Should that happen, they'll be ready to rush British nationals to the safety of their Congo base.
But at the moment, any further military intervention in Zaire is firmly off the British agenda.
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