ZAIRE'S AILING STRONGMAN PLANS RETURN.

Byline: Andrew Maykuth Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Ailing President Mobutu Sese Seko, often rumored these days to be dead physically if not politically, reportedly will return to Zaire today to confront an expanding rebellion that threatens to topple his 31-year dictatorship.

``He intends to meet members of the government and the military to resolve the crisis in Zaire,'' the president's son, Nzanga Mobutu, said in France, where Mobutu is convalescing at his Riviera villa from prostate cancer treatment.

Mobutu would return to a country that has changed dramatically since he flew back from France in December to cheering throngs who expected him to quell a tiny rebellion in eastern Zaire.

Since then, Zairean rebels have marched with surprising ease across one-fifth of the country, culminating with the capture Saturday of Zaire's third-largest city, Kisangani. And Mobutu's popularity has eroded with each city surrendered by his demoralized and underpaid army.

In a statement faxed to the Associated Press from his villa in southern France on Thursday, Mobutu repeated calls for a cease-fire with the rebels and again promised elections. This time, he added a proposed national council to address the country's problems.

``I invite all Zaireans to join a grand national effort,'' the statement said. ``I call on all who . . . love their country to join immediately to resolve the crisis.''

Mobutu said the council should be made up of ``all our brothers, none excluded,'' but he did not refer directly to the rebels and it was unclear which groups would be included.

Mobutu's health, meanwhile, is a mystery. He had planned a photo session Thursday to dispel rumors that he was seriously ill, but he abruptly canceled the appearance. His son said Mobutu was too busy.

In Zaire, support for Mobutu has deteriorated so quickly that it is uncertain whether he will even have a nation to govern when his plane touches down here, much less a significant welcoming committee.

Zaire's elite are fleeing the country in droves - though some business people are hedging their bets by moving across the broad and sweltering Zaire River to Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, where they still conduct business in Kinshasa by cellular telephone.

The French Foreign Ministry recommended Thursday that nonessential French citizens leave the country because of ``the uncertainty linked to the current situation in Zaire.''

And U.S. armed forces are investigating possible routes to evacuate the 650 Americans believed to be in Zaire should the situation deteriorate further.

Kinshasa, a sprawling city of vast slums, neglected roads and legendary night life, is strangely on edge with rumors that Mobutu is dead or gravely ill as rebels commanded by Laurent Kabila move westward toward the city.

The expectation of a military coup has receded since Wednesday, when the army chief of staff, Gen. Mahele Lieko Bokoungo, played down rumors of an army takeover. Diplomats said international players such as France and the United States have made it clear that they would not recognize any regime established by coup d'etat.

Mahele also said he ordered troops not to ``loot, steal and vandalize,'' as they have done before fleeing other cities ahead of rebel takeovers.