‘Restoring Order’ Stressed By Mobutu

Abandoned by some of his best foreign friends, offered a humiliating out by a longtime foe, Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko turned Thursday to the one compatriot who has always been there for him: the military.

His new prime minister wore a four-star general’s uniform on his first day on the job, underscoring his commitment to “restoring order” to the war-racked land.

Rebel leader Laurent Kabila stopped his advancing forces to give Mobutu time to mull over a three-day ultimatum to step down. But he made clear that rebels will march on the capital - the president’s last stronghold - if the answer is no.

Two of Mobutu’s once loyal foreign backers, Belgium and the United States, intensified pressure on him to resign.