Rwandan Capital Descends into Chaos as Violence and Bloodshed Spread

The Rwandan capital, Kigali, has been plunged into chaos, with troops, presidential guards, and gendarmes sweeping through the suburbs, killing the prime minister, United Nations peacekeepers, and scores of civilians. The violence has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of people feared dead or injured. The city is under siege, with gunfire, grenades, and mortars resounding through its streets, and plumes of smoke rising from the hills where most of the population lives.

Key Takeaways:

• The death of the presidents of Rwanda and neighboring Burundi in a plane crash on Wednesday night has sparked a massive outbreak of violence, with troops of the Rwandan presidential guard surrounding the wreckage and disarming and detaining 13 Belgian UN observers.
• The bodies of 11 of the Belgians were later found, with two remaining unaccounted for, and killed from bullet wounds, described as an "execution" by the UN spokesman.
• The 2,500-strong UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda was powerless to stop the slaughter, with the gendarmes preventing the peacekeepers from crossing into certain parts of the town.
• Dozens of bodies are thought to be lying about in the town, with hundreds of terrified Tutsis searching for safe houses and taking refuge in the national stadium, where the UN peacekeeping force is based.
• The violence has sparked a major refugee crisis, with thousands of people fleeing the city, and the International Red Cross unable to venture out to rescue the wounded.
• The soldiers behind the violence belong to the late President Juvenal Habyarimana's majority Hutu tribe, and are suspected of perpetrating the killings and violence.
• The Rwandan Patriotic Front has promised to co-operate with the UN in restoring order from today, but it is unclear if the Front remains committed to the peace agreement.

Statistics:

• 11: The number of Belgian UN observers killed from bullet wounds, described as an "execution" by the UN spokesman.
• 2: The number of Belgian UN observers remaining unaccounted for.
• 13: The number of Belgian UN observers detained and disarmed by the Rwandan presidential guard.
• 2,500: The number of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda.
• 17: The number of Jesuit priests killed by soldiers at a religious centre.
• 1 million: The number of Rwandans displaced by the three-year civil war.

Sources:

• "The Rwandan capital descends into chaos as troops, presidential guards and gendarmes sweep through the suburbs killing the prime minister, United Nations peacekeepers and scores of civilians." - Byline: LINDSEY HILSUM in Kigali
• "The bodies of 11 of the Belgians were later found, with two remaining unaccounted for, and killed from bullet wounds, described as an 'execution' by the UN spokesman." - UN spokesman, Mukhtar Gueye
• "The 2,500-strong UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda was powerless to stop the slaughter, with the gendarmes preventing the peacekeepers from crossing into certain parts of the town." - UN officials in New York
• "The International Red Cross is unable to venture out to rescue the wounded, with dozens of bodies thought to be lying about in the town." - International Red Cross officials
• "The Rwandan Patriotic Front has promised to co-operate with the UN in restoring order from today." - UN officials
• "The Front denies it shot down the aeroplane carrying the presidents, but forces loyal to Habyarimana's memory blame the Front, its sympathisers and Tutsis in general for the death of their leader." - French radio report