ZAIRE's ailing President Mobutu Sese Seko landed in his private aircraft at the French Riviera capital of Nice after a flight from Switzerland, an airport spokesman said yesterday.
However, it did not appear that the 66 year old Zairean President was en route to his troubled homeland. Mr Mobutu, who has a villa near Nice, had been in Switzerland since August when he underwent surgery for prostate cancer at the University Hospital in Lausanne.
President Mobutu made no statement on arrival. He was whisked off to an undisclosed location presumed to be his sprawling personal residence at Roquebrune Cap Martin, east of Moncao and one of the most picturesque areas of the Riviera.
Officials in Paris said they did not know Mr Mobutu was arriving and doubted he would meet President Jacques Chirac, who is attending a Franco Spanish summit in nearby Marseilles.
Mobutu's arrival coincided with east Zaire falling into ever greater confusion. Fighting between rival groups has forced about a million refugees on to the roads and France has called for international action.
Mobutu, a one time army sergeant who seized power in 1965, had been living with his entourage of more than 20 at Lausanne's luxury Beau Rivage Palace hotel. However, Swiss authorities were understood to have asked him to avoid public appearances or interviews.
A special United Nations envoy, Mr Raymond Chretien, had been expecting to visit him in Lausanne this week to discuss the fighting in eastern Zaire and the plight of a million Hutu refugees from Rwanda and Burundi.