Fighting Halts Envoy’s Entry Into Kigali
Rebel and government forces battled in Rwanda’s capital Monday despite a promised cease-fire, blocking a U.N. envoy from reaching Kigali.
The day saw only intermittent signs of a 36-hour truce that both sides called to let U.N. envoy Iqbal Riza enter Kigali in an effort to halt seven weeks of carnage.
At least five mortar bombs landed in the capital’s U.N. compound, but there were no reports of injuries. Riza met leaders of the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front north of Kigali and was to have traveled on to the capital for talks with the government side.
“Both sides seem to have difficulty in securing our security, so we cannot go along the route into Kigali,” Riza said before heading back by road to Uganda. He said he hoped to fly to Kigali today.
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