Attack Rumor Worsens Zaire’s Refugee Chaos
An exodus of 300,000 Hutu refugees from camps in eastern Zaire grew more chaotic Thursday as rumors spread that Tutsi rebels were planning to attack the provincial capital.
U.N. aid workers in that city, Bukavu, where 80,000 refugees were reported to have arrived Thursday, said Zairian troops were setting up roadblocks and warning people of an impending assault.
Though reports of fighting last week between Zairian troops and Tutsis have not been confirmed, the mere fear that fighting had broken out prompted Hutu refugees to flee 12 camps near Uvira, 60 miles south of Bukavu.
As those refugees were streaming toward Bukavu, others were fleeing westward from camps in Bukavu, away from the border with Rwanda, from which they fear an attack will be launched. There are about 40 refugee camps in eastern Zaire.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees warned that the situation could deteriorate rapidly as food supplies are exhausted and refugees are forced to drink polluted water.
Zairian Prime Minister Leon Kengo wa Dondo on Thursday asked Belgium, Zaire’s former colonial ruler, to organize mediation by the European Union to resolve the conflict between Zaire and Rwanda.
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