The head of Congo's army said in a nationally televised address Friday that security forces had regained control of the capital after two days of intense fighting against the militia of a former warlord who lost last year's presidential runoff. Lt. Gen. Sungilanga Kisempia said order had been restored in Kinshasa and that Jean-Pierre Bemba's army had fled, according to the broadcast on state-run RTNC television. He urged members of the militia to turn themselves in at the headquarters of the U.N. mission in Congo, saying that if they don't, "We will pursue them to the very end."Bemba, who sought refuge inside the South African embassy, accused the government of starting the violence and said he had asked his men to stand down, but that he no longer commands them. "I am not in control," he told the British Broadcasting Corp. Congo's chief prosecutor has issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of high treason. "He has caused serious infractions by organizing a militia and by ordering looting ... his actions amount to high treason and we will pursue him wherever he is," Tsaimanga Mukenda said, adding he would ask parliament to strip Bemba of his immunity as a newly elected senator.
Sporadic gunfire could still be heard in the capital late Friday, but the intensity had significantly decreased from earlier in the day when mortar rounds sent buildings up in flames, including a nearby oil refinery. Hospital officials said at least 12 people were killed and as many as 47 wounded in two days of fighting between security forces and Bemba's personal guard, believed to number in the thousands. An Italian citizen was among the wounded, the Italian Foreign Ministry said. The ministry gave no details about the man, but the Italian news agency ANSA said he was struck by a bullet.