CONGO: OYO: SASSOU-NGUESSO GIVEN HERO'S WELCOME IN HOMETOWN

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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French/Nat The Republic of Congo's civil war victor, General Denis Sassou-Nguesso, was given a hero's welcome in his hometown of Oyo on Friday. Sassou-Nguesso's Cobra militiamen captured the capital Brazzaville as well as the oil capital, Pointe Noire, on Wednesday. In his first news conference since claiming victory in the four month long civil war, he said his priority was to start consultations with political groups "on forming a broad national unity government". General Denis Sassou-Nguesso returned to his hometown of Oyo in the north of the Republic of Congo on Friday. The former dictator declared himself back in power after his Cobra rebels captured the capital Brazzaville and, with the aid of Angolan troops, the second city - Pointe Noire. The country has been wracked by civil war for four months - Sassou-Nguesso's forces have been fighting troops loyal to President Pascal Lissouba. Sassou-Nguesso, 54, ruled from 1979 until the advent of multi-party politics in the early 1990s. Despite his Marxist roots, he liberalised the economy and improved ties with the West. Now he says he is back in charge and returned to Oyo a conquering hero. His troops were celebrating here and in Brazzaville where there are widespread reports of looting. In his first news conference since declaring himself the victor, he said he wanted to bring peace to the war ravaged country. SOUNDBITE: (French) "Congolese people must have peace again in their country, they must be able to get back their old lifestyle, they must be able to go anywhere they want because it's been a rare thing (to be able to move around freely) in the last week - the people must have freedom of movement. And we are going to offer Congolose people national reconciliation. We are going to be serious about this." SUPER CAPTION: General Denis Sassou-Nguesso Sassou-Nguesso said he would start consulting with political groups "on forming a broad national unity government". Once this government was formed, he would then decide when to hold what he described as "free and democratic elections." He added that one of his top priorities was to organise a national police and army to stop the fighting between militias General Sassou-Nguesso also said he was ready to deal with the international community and the United Nations. He has suggested Omar Bongo, the Gabonese President as a possible mediator. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3b6533668ee031ec314e3b99ce667dc2 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork