Kigali, Friday
SCORES of Rwanda Patriotic Front rebels strolled casually near the
government-held centre of Kigali during a civil war lull in the Rwandan
capital today, witnesses said.
The scene confirmed that the rebels have gained ground from the army
in heavy battles. But UN officials doubt that fighting and tribal
bloodshed will be checked by a Tanzanian mediated truce.
''The RPF definitely gained some ground,'' a witness said. ''We have
never seen them so close to the city centre. They appeared very
confident, with their weapons slung over their backs.''
UN officers said it was hard to say how far the rebels had advanced,
as their strategy was to hit from all sides. But government forces
appeared to be in disarray.
''The RPF appears to have high morale and their men are well trained
as street fighters,'' one officer said.
Aid workers said rebels had also surrounded the northwestern town of
Ruhengeri and were battling to capture it.
Abdul Kabia, director of UNAMIR, the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda,
said battles with artillery, mortars and rockets raged across Kigali
until this morning's lull but he could not comment on who had the
advantage.
''The position is very fluid,'' said Kabia.
Some 300 refugees, mostly Tutsi, are trapped at the Hotel des Mille
Collines. Government troops, militiamen and a mob blocked their
evacuation aboard a UN convoy on Tuesday and slashed seven of them with
machetes.
Abdul Kabia said UNAMIR want to try again to move the refugees but had
made no progress with Rwandan army commanders.
A mortar bomb exploded near the terminal at Kigali airport, jointly
held by UN and government forces, and a Canadian transport plane was hit
by sniper fire. Rebels and government forces both denied firing.
UNAMIR closed the airport, the only reliable link for the 270-strong
force to the outside world. Abdul Kabia said he did not expect it to
reopen today as UNAMIR wanted letters from both sides promising it would
not be targeted.
In the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, the UN special envoy to Rwanda said
he doubted a Tanzanian announcement that both sides agreed separately to
stop fighting from tomorrow would end the civil war.
''I cannot be optimistic as 10 days ago we found ourselves in almost
the same situation with two unilateral ceasefire declarations and this
was not implemented on the ground,'' said UN Special Representative
Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh.
The RFP's representative in Brussels, James Rwego, said the RPF had
signed a ceasefire declaration that will come into effect at midnight on
Sunday.
He said RPF officials had signed the accord yesterday in the Zairean
town of Gbadolite. The Belgian news agency Belga, quoting Zaire's
ambassador in Brussels, said it believed the Rwanda armed forces had
signed the same deal today in Gbadolite.
However, a spokesman for the Zairean embassay said it was not clear
whether a delegation from the Rwandan armed forces had yet arrived in
Gbadolite to sign the document.
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