Citation
BRUSSELS, April 11 (Reuter) - Belgium was poised to start a high-risk
evacuation of its nationals from Rwanda on Monday as sporadic fighting
continued in the capital Kigali.
The commander of Belgian troops serving as part of a 2,500-strong U.N.
force in the country said there was still firing in parts of the
capital but the fighting was less intense that in previous days.
Police are trying to get security under control and are rooting out
looters,
Colonel Luc Marchal told Belgian radio.
Paratroops were flown in to Kigali on Sunday as part of an
international effort to evacuate Belgians and other expatriates after
an orgy of violence in the capital where tens of thousands of people
have died following the assassination of the country's president last
week.
Some 90 Belgians -- there are 1,500 in the former Belgian colony, the
biggest contingent of Westerners -- arrived in Brussels on Monday on a
flight from neighbouring Burundi. They had escaped in an overland
convoy from southern Rwanda.
A Belgian army spokesman said two C-130 transport planes were on
standby at Kigali airport to fly out evacuees. They could take a total
of 120 people, he said.
Belgian troops also were going to other regions this morning, except
northern Rwanda where there is fighting between rebel forces and
government troops, to escort nationals who wanted to be repatriated.
Belgian Defence Minister Leo Delcroix warned on Sunday of the dangers
in the evacuation and said it could take more than a week. There are
risks in this operation, considering the very complex situation in the
country,
he said.
We are giving all Belgians the opportunity to come home. Some we will
oblige to return. If other private citizens stay it will be their own
responsibility,
Delcroix said.
Delcroix said he thought the first evacuees coming direct from Kigali
would return on Monday.
About 200 Belgians have gathered in United Nations buildings in Kigali
to await evacuation, Belgian radio BRTN reported.
Belgian troops initially had been denied access to Kigali airport, but
Rwandan authorities agreed to open the airport to them on Sunday
afternoon after all-night negotiations.
The Belgians are unpopular among the majority Hutu tribe which believes
they support the rebels. There were also rumours in Kigali that Belgium
was involved in the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana. Belgium has
denied both charges.
Belgian armed forces chief-of-staff Lieutenant-General Jose Charlier
told a news conference on Sunday eight C-130 transport planes carrying
250 troops landed at Kigali airport as part of Operation Silver Back, a
reference to Rwanda's famous mountain gorillas.
The second phase of the operation is complete, now the third phase is
starting, to evacuate people,
Charlier said.
Charlier said evacuations started on Sunday morning, led by French
troops and helped by Belgian troops already in Kigali as part of a U.N.
force.
The bodies of 10 Belgian soldiers killed last Thursday while trying in
vain to protect slain Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingyimana were
flown to the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Four wounded soldiers were also on
the plane, witnesses said.
The bodies will be repatriated to Belgium by midweek, an army spokesman
said. The Foreign Ministry said three Belgian civilians were also
killed in Kigali last Thursday.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
