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| Africa: Subsaharan |
| Rwanda warning of new genocide |
| 2004-08-17 |
| U.N. Rwandan troops were dispatched to the southern Sudan to stop 'genocide'. Something wrong here. Rwanda has warned it could intervene to prevent any new genocide, as massacred Tutsi refugees were buried in Burundi. Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told the BBC his country had the right to defend itself against rebel Hutu militias. He was speaking after more than 150 mostly Congolese ethnic Tutsis were buried in a mass grave. The refugees, many of them children, were allegedly killed on Friday by men from Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda. Mr Murigande blamed the killings on the lack of action by the international community, who, he said, had failed to disarm the Hutu militias after the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme that if armed groups crossed into Rwanda to carry out attacks, Rwanda would pursue them back into DR Congo if necessary. "This border cannot be a shield behind which they should always hide," he said. A Burundian Hutu rebel group has claimed responsibility for Friday night's attack but a Rwandan group has denied taking part. Among the several thousand people at Monday's funeral were Burundi's President Domitien Ndayizeye and DR Congo's Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa - himself a Congolese Tutsi. Speaking at the funeral, a Rwandan minister, Christophe Bazivamo, said his country would act to stop further violence. "Rwanda is resolved to no longer tolerate acts of genocide," he said, quoted by AFP news agency. "Rwanda is ready to bring aid and intervene... to stop genocide and calm down the people as in Darfur." Rwanda was one of the first countries to send troops to protect African Union ceasefire monitors in war-ravaged western Sudan. At the funeral, the coffins were laid side by side in a huge common grave, measuring 20m wide by 25m deep. A banner next to the grave read: "The genocide of Tutsis is a reality". Other placards read: "Onub go home," referring to the UN's peace-keeping mission of some 2,000 troops, which failed to prevent the massacre. The UN Security Council has condemned the killing and called on Burundi and Congolese authorities to co-operate to bring those responsible to justice. It has asked Burundi to set up a refugee camp away from the DR Congo border where the killings took place. Many of the victims were Tutsi women, children and babies, who fled southern DR Congo in June after fighting between Tutsi rebels and the army. Armed with machetes, guns and grenades, the attackers entered the Gatumba camp some 10km from the Burundi capital on Friday evening and set fire to several shelters. The president of Burundi said the massacre was carried out by Congolese who had crossed into his country. The border between the two countries has now been closed. But a Burundi rebel group - the National Liberation Front (FNL) - said the killings had occurred during its attack on an army base next to the refugee camp and Congolese and Rwandan fighters were not involved. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #2 Well, of course. They're observers. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-08-17 5:34:42 PM |
| #1 Other placards read: "Onub go home," referring to the UN’s peace-keeping mission of some 2,000 troops, which failed to prevent the massacre. The UN Security Council has condemned the killing and called on Burundi and Congolese authorities to co-operate to bring those responsible to justice. Not to worry...the UN was there to watch it happen. And they've "condenmed" and "called on" everyone to cooperate. So move along..everything's under control here. They'll let us know when it rises to the level of "genocide". Until then, nothing to see here. |
| Posted by: B 2004-08-17 7:26:43 AM |