Rescue plan for 470 Britons

British forces plan to rescue an estimated 470 British citizens from Zaire if the country disintegrates with the further advance of the reb-els, senior defence sources said yesterday, writes Christopher Bellamy.

If a rescue has to be carried out, the Ministry of Defence was yesterday plan- ning to move the main group north from the capital, Kinshasa, across the Zaire river into Brazzaville.

A second group would be moved from Lumumbasha, in the south of the country.

The operation would, like that in Albania, involve special forces troops on the ground, helicopters and Hercules transport planes.