Harare - Zimbabwean troops fighting in the Congo war have fled the strategic town of Pweto, which has fallen to the Rwandan-backed rebels, the Zimbabwean government confirmed yesterday, writes Andrew Meldrum. A contingent of 1,200 Zimbabwean and Congolese troops was pushed back across the border into Zambia, where they were disarmed and put into a refugee camp. The Zambians have asked Harare to take custody of its soldiers.
More than 60,000 Congolese civilians have fled the fighting around Pweto and are currently in Zambia, according to UN estimates.