|
Rebels declare temporary cease-fire in E. Zaire
Tutsi leader says refugees will get chance to go home
November 4, 1996
Web posted at: 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT)BUJUMBURA, Burundi (CNN) -- Ethnic Tutsi rebels in eastern Zaire announced Monday a three-week, unilateral cease-fire to allow more than one million mostly Hutu refugees to return to their homes in Rwanda and Burundi.
But rebel leader Laurent Kabila said fighting would resume if Zairian troops did not respect the cease-fire, set to begin at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT). There was no way to confirm that attacks had stopped.
"(The cease-fire) is because of the disquiet of the international community, to allow the International Red Cross to evacuate the refugees who want to return to their original countries," Kabila said in a phone call to Voice of America radio.
International aid workers had completely abandoned the region because of the fighting by Saturday, prompting U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata to appeal to the warring parties to allow aid shipments through, and to stop attacking refugees.
"From Goma, through Rwanda, there is a real clear route ... this is the route that the refugees took when they left Rwanda," Ogata said. "And if we can assure safety and guarantee safety and encourage some confidence-building measures, this is the most logical route that they can take."
Banyamulegne Tutsi rebels began the latest violence after Zairian authorities ordered them off land within Zaire they had held for at least two centuries. The Tutsi went on the offensive, driving government forces from the key towns of Uvira and Bukavu.
U.N. spokesmen said the situation in those areas is particularly dire.
"I think it's likely that people are dying right now. The people in Uvira have been without food and water and shelter for two weeks or more," said U.N. High Commission for Refugees spokesman Paul Stromberg. "And many of them probably had to flee the camps without taking with them whatever food they can carry."
The refugees, forced to leave makeshift camps near the Rwandan border, have refused to return to Rwanda.
African leaders to meet Tuesday
Leaders of the 54-nation Organization of African Unity were preparing to meet Tuesday to discuss the crisis. Zaire's government said it would boycott the summit unless Rwandan troops withdraw from its soil.
(CNN's Catharine Bond analyzes Rwanda's role in the conflict: 36 sec./399K AIFF or WAV sound)
Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda all deny they are backing the rebels in Zaire, but international witnesses say they have seen Rwandan troops in the Zairian city Goma.
The rebels say their goal is to overthrow Zaire's ailing president, Mobutu Sese Seko.
The African leaders have so far resisted European pressure to respond militarily.
"I don't think it is a tenable proposition," said David Kikaya, a Kenyan foreign ministry official. "How do you mobilize an African force -- harmonizing logistics, supplies, transportation, chain of command -- in such a short time?"
Kikaya also rejected the idea that the African nations should alone respond to the Zairian tragedy.
"It means you are trying to marginalize Africa," he said. "When it's an African problem, let Africa deal with it. When it's a problem outside Africa, let the United Nations deal with it."
"We are all members of the United Nations," he said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Zaire's refugees at brink of disaster - November 3, 1996
- Aid workers caught in heavy Zaire fighting - October 31, 1996
- Archbishop killed as rebels rout Zairian army - October 30, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Crisis in Zaire
- American Red Cross: Crisis in Eastern Zaire
- Zaire Watch
- U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
- Rwanda Page
- City.Net:Zaire
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.