PRESIDENT Mobutu Sese Seko's tottering government shuddered yesterday as rebels closed in on Zaire's second largest city and political clashes erupted in the capital, Kinshasa.
In the mineral rich south, the copperbelt city of Lubumbashi prepared to greet the advancing forces of the rebel leader, Mr Laurent Desire Kabila, driving another nail into the coffin of Mr Mobutu's 32 year rule.
Residents awoke to news that rebels were on the way in force from the south west, after taking control of the town of Kipushi on the Zambian border before dawn.
Shops and businesses were closed and the streets emptied, but groups of cheering onlookers later formed outside one army barracks in the city where government troops tied on white head bands to signal their switch to Mr Kabila.
"We've all changed sides. We're ready for the arrival of Kabila," said Sgt Kafua Otamba of the 21st Brigade. "We've suffered enough in Zaire over the last 30 years. We must get rid of Mobutu. We've had no pay and we have no food."
In Kinshasa, supporters of the Prime Minister, Mr Etienne Tshisekedi, broke through cordons of troops who used armoured cars to block a march on parliament, which is trying to oust the premier after only a week in office.
Several thousand protesters set up barricades of burning tyres in the capital's teeming shantytowns and police fired teargas to turn back about 1,000 demonstrators heading for the national assembly to stop yesterday's opening session.
At a secret location in South Africa, peace talks resumed on Monday between Mr Kabila's representatives and government envoys. There was no word of progress in the talks, which began with a standoff between the rebels' demand for Mr Mobutu to go and the ailing President's evident determination to retain power despite losing city after city to Mr Kabila.
In a further sign that the tide was turning against President Mobutu, the diamond mining company De Beers, the firm that controls the world's diamond market, said it held weekend talks with Mr Kabila. De Beers has trading offices in Zaire's diamond capital, Mbuji Mayi, which was taken by Mr Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo Zaire (AFDL) on Saturday.
In rebel controlled Kisangani the new governor said Kabila authorities were already collecting revenue from diamond sales.
"Before, all the money went straight into pockets," said Mr Yagi Sitolo, referring to years of corruption in which Zaire's wealth enriched President Mobutu, his family and army generals.
After weeks of tense speculation, Lubumbashi's fate appeared sealed when a force of several hundred rebel troops swept through Kipushi, just 30 km away, and advanced along the road towards the Shaba province [capital itself. Lubumbashi was effectively encircled, leaving no clear avenue of escape for government troops and the elite presidential guard units recently sent to reinforce them.
The headquarters of the Gecamines mining company decided to shut up shop, pushing up cobalt prices in European trading. Sizarail a Belgian South African consortium which runs local railways, also packed away its communications equipment.
Zaire airlines cancelled all flights to Lubumbashi.
But in the city, cheering residents crowded around soldiers at one roadblock, applauding their decision to come over to Mr Kabila's side. "We are waiting for Kabila, he is our saviour, one said.
In what was widely seen as a coded message that there should be no resistance, the governor of the mineral rich Shaba province, Mr Kyungu wa Kumwanza, urged that bloodshed be avoided.
Residents in Kipushi, on the Zambian border south west of Lubumbashi, said by telephone that the rebel force had entered the town from the direction of the southern border, taking everyone by surprise. They met no resistance and walked on to Lubumbashi at dawn, according to Mr Gilbert Mbangu, a businessman.