When the Congo's white mercenaries revolted last month, it seemed hardly possible that their rebellion could end in anything but defeat. The "meres," after all, number only 160 men, backed up by 1,500 or so dissident Katangese troops, while President Joseph Mobutu's Congolese National Army is 30,000 strong. Moreover, the rebel commander, Major Jean Schramme, is not a soldier; he is a Belgian plantation owner who has lived in the Congo for 23 of his 36 years. But last week it was "Black Jack" Schramme and his mercenaries who held the upper hand.
Emerging from their stronghold in the plantation...
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