Zaire Expels Rwandan Refugees
Thousands of Rwandan refugees fled camps in Zaire on Monday to avoid a forced return to their homeland, while Zairian troops dumped about 3,500 people on its eastern border with Rwanda, among them the blind, disabled and infants.
Cheering Zairian soldiers made no secret of their joy at seeing the Rwandan Hutus go, and dragged a man on crutches over the border as terrified refugees watched and barefoot children scattered.
Peter Kessler, a spokesman for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said 26,000 Rwandan refugees abandoned three camps near the eastern Zairian town of Uvira and fled into the hills to avoid being repatriated.
Zaire said it will ignore a letter from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, asking it to stop expelling Rwandans.
About 1 million Rwandan Hutus fled into Zaire a year ago after the Hutu-led government and army--responsible for the genocide of as many as 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus--were defeated by rebels of the minority Tutsi tribe.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
