KINSHASA, Zaire -- Rebel fighting has spread to the north of Zaire's mineral-producing Shaba province, with the army battling to hold on to the lakeside town of Kalemie, a senior Defense Ministry official said in Kinshasa on Monday.


"Since last night there has been heavy fighting in the northern part of Kalemie," the official said. "The FAZ [Zaire army] controls it, but reinforcements are having to be sent in from the military base at Kamina."


Military sources in the region said rebels had already seized Kalemie, birthplace of guerrilla leader Laurent Kabila. They said the town fell Sunday after heavy fighting between government troops and Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire.