Rwandan Soldiers in Zaire Pose Threat to Relief Efforts and Refugee Repatriation

Strategic Insights -

Deep within the Mugunga refugee camp in Zaire, a stark reality emerges as thousands of Rwandan soldiers, mostly Hutu and accused of massacring hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in Rwanda, are regrouping and refusing to disband. These soldiers, estimated by the chief of staff, General Augustin Bizimungu, to number 15,000, are openly taking sides in the conflict, intimidating refugees, and disrupting the already-strained relief efforts for the over one million refugees.

Key Takeaways:

  • Rwandan soldiers, mostly Hutu, are accused of massacring hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in Rwanda and are now regrouping in Zaire, posing a threat to the refugee camps and relief efforts.
  • The soldiers, numbering 15,000, according to General Augustin Bizimungu, are being paid and are saying they want "bullets, so that we can go back to our country" when asked what they want from the international community.
  • The soldiers are taking food meant for the sick and weak, and are engaging in intimidation to keep refugees from returning to Rwanda, making rapid repatriation more difficult and unlikely.
  • The UN has tried to get the soldiers to disband and take off their uniforms, but they refuse, with General Bizimungu stating they can "take our uniforms off and remain in the army."
  • The soldiers are being led by General Augustin Bizimungu, a career military man appointed chief of staff in April by the new government that came to power after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana.
  • The new Tutsi-dominated government in Rwanda is accused of killing Hutus who dare to return, a message that is being spread in some camps and is making repatriation more difficult.

Statistics:

  • 15,000 Rwandan soldiers are estimated to be in Zaire, according to General Augustin Bizimungu.
  • Over one million refugees are in need of relief in the Mugunga camp.
  • 18 kilometres northwest of Goma, there is a stretch of road where Rwandan soldiers are regrouped and openly taking sides in the conflict.
  • The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) defeated the Rwandan army in Rwanda last month.
  • The UN has been trying to get the Rwandan soldiers to disband and take off their uniforms for two weeks.

Sources:

  • Raymond Bonner, New York Times Service
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • General Augustin Bizimungu, Chief of Staff of the Rwandan army