Rwandan Patriotic Front Abuses Against Hutus Revealed

Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) soldiers have been mistreating and killing members of the majority Hutu ethnic group trying to return to their villages, according to eyewitness accounts from people returning to refugee camps. The mistreatment has been reported in villages where the RPF has taken control, and the victims include women, children, and elderly individuals. The abuse is a stark contrast to the RPF's radio appeals urging Hutus to return to their villages, claiming they will not be harmed.

Key Takeaways:

• Eyewitness accounts reveal RPF soldiers have mistreated and killed Hutus trying to return to their villages, including women, children, and elderly individuals.
• Five Hutus in Kaduha village detailed testimonies of abuses they had seen committed by RPF soldiers and Tutsi villagers, all from south-eastern Rwanda who had tried to return home within the last two weeks.
• The RPF has been broadcasting radio appeals for nearly 3 million Hutus who fled their homes during the war to leave refugee camps, saying they will not be harmed when they return to their villages.
• Evidence of widespread abuse will damage the RPF's standing with Western governments providing support for Rwanda's reconstruction and repatriation program.
• Aid workers in the eastern sector of the French-protected zone fear that if people do not return to their villages, famine will strike the region, where up to a million people are dependent on irregular deliveries of food aid.
• Local people do not trust the UN, which they say did not protect them when the war re-started in April, and may follow 1.5 million other Rwandans into Zaire if they feel unsafe in their villages or refugee camps.

Statistics:

• 3 million Hutus fled their homes during the war (Source: RPF radio appeals).
• 500,000 estimated Tutsis killed by the Hutu-led government and army earlier in the year (Source: Original text).
• 800 United Nations troops replacing French forces in the French-protected zone on August 21 (Source: Original text).
• 1 million people in the eastern sector of the French-protected zone dependent on irregular deliveries of food aid (Source: Aid workers).
• 1.5 million other Rwandans have fled into Zaire (Source: Original text).
• Up to 15 RPF soldiers who came to Colette Mukandamutsa's house while she and her husband were hiding in the trees (Source: Colette Mukandamutsa's testimony).

Sources:

• Eyewitnesses and locals in Kaduha village.
• Louis Nyandwe, who named two women and five children killed by the RPF with machetes and hoes in his village.
• Charles Murera, who showed severe rope burns on his elbows and small scars on his knees and ankle.
• Colette Mukandamutsa, who returned to her village in Ntogwe district and saw seven bodies lying in the village with knife wounds in the neck.
• Aid workers in the eastern sector of the French-protected zone.
• RPF radio appeals.
• Original text.