Citation
BONN, April 9 (Reuter) - The United States has deployed about 330
Marines and seven military aircraft to Burundi to deal with any
eventual evacuation of U.S. citizens from the Rwandan capital Kigali, a
U.S. Navy spokesman said on Saturday.
U.S. Navy Captain Gordon Peterson, spokesman for the U.S. European
Command, said four C-141 transport aircraft had also been deployed to
Mombasa, Kenya.
As a precautionary measure in reaction to the escalation of the
fighting in Rwanda, the United States European Command is deploying two
companies of U.S. Marines, some 330 personnel, to Bujumbura,
Peterson
told Reuters.
We have had no reports of specific threats against U.S. citizens but
due to the sharp escalation in fighting we have pre-positioned aircraft
in the event an evacuation becomes likely,
he added.
He said four KC-130 aircraft and three CH-53 helicopters had been sent
to Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, and were expected to arrive within
the next few hours. He added the U.S. State Department estimated that
there were between 200 and 250 American citizens in Rwanda.
France and Belgium sent troops to Rwanda on Saturday to prepare for an
airlift of foreigners as the country lurched towards all-out civil war
following two days of tribal bloodletting.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
