Refugees Tell of Peasant Massacre in Rwanda

Hundreds of Rwandan peasants accused of supporting a rebel invasion force have been massacred by government troops and members of the majority Hutu tribe, villagers fleeing to Uganda said today.

Soldiers shot peasants and burned down huts while Hutus hacked women and children with machetes Monday in attacks on at least nine settlements inhabited mainly by the minority Tutsi tribe in northeastern Rwanda, the villagers said.

“The army told people to go into the villages, then they opened fire while others burned the houses,” Stephen Kabarega, a cattle owner, told a reporter at this town on the Rwandan-Ugandan border.

“Those trying to escape were ambushed by Hutus armed with machetes and spears,” Kabarega added.

The death toll has reached hundreds, according to the refugees, some of whom showed reporters wounds from beatings and shrapnel fragments.

About 400 Rwandans have arrived at this border post since Tuesday after walking through the night and were camping out here.

Small groups of people escaping the killings continued to arrive and were being fed by the Ugandan army, the commanding officer in Kizinga said.

The attacks took place about 10 miles from Nyakatale--a town that fell into the hands of rebels after they invaded Rwanda from Uganda 10 days ago.

“The whole place was littered with bodies. It seems more people died than escaped,” Kabarega said.

One woman died after Hutus hacked off her arms and forced them into her mouth, said Jean-Marie Sebutama, a stone mason. Her two small children, ages 1 and 5, were then slaughtered.

People arriving in Kizinga were dressed in ragged clothes and said they had not eaten for days.

One woman, Vestina Karuhimbi, told reporters she walked naked from her ranch 25 miles to the border after being stripped and beaten by government troops.

Fierce fighting between rebels and government troops continued in northeastern Rwanda.