Editing Pascal Lissouba (section)

==Unrest and civil war ==
Conflict soon broke out however. A coalition of opposition groups and their militias accused Lissouba of rigging the elections. Widespread civil war was averted when [[Gabon]] and the [[Organisation of African Unity]] intervened, but sporadic fighting continued until January 1995.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

Fighting broke out again in June 1997 when Lissouba engaged militias loyal to former President Col. [[Denis Sassou Nguesso]] of the [[Congolese Labor Party]] (PCT) in [[Brazzaville]], accusing the former president of an attempted coup. Sassou Nguesso, however, was able to escape and stage a counterattack.<ref name="French 1997a">
{{cite news
|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E4DD103CF933A25755C0A961958260
|title=Army Fights Rebel Force To Control Brazzaville
|access-date=15 December 2008
|newspaper=The New York Times
|date=10 June 1997
|author=Howard W. French
}}
</ref> Thus began a 4-month [[Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997-99)|civil war]] that destroyed or damaged much of the capital. In early October 1997, [[Angola]]n troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou. Most of Brazzaville fell to rebel and Angolan forces on 14 October 1997, and Lissouba fled; within two days the capital was under the control of forces loyal to Sassou Nguesso, and [[Pointe-Noire]] fell with little resistance.<ref name="French 1997b">
{{cite news
|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E2DA153FF935A25753C1A961958260
|title=Rebels, Backed by Angola, Take Brazzaville and Oil Port
|access-date=16 December 2008
|newspaper=The New York Times
|date=16 October 1997
|author=Howard W. French
}}
</ref> Sassou Nguesso proclaimed himself President on 25 October 1997, but militia forces loyal to Lissouba continued a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] war. The vital [[Congo-Ocean Railway]] from the coastal city of [[Pointe-Noire]] was cut, and Brazzaville was heavily damaged before a cease-fire was agreed to in December 1999.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}