Citation
BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuter) - The first Belgians evacuated by
paratroops from Rwanda arrived in Brussels on Tuesday, with tales of
the butchery and horror they witnessed during days of ethnic slaughter
in the former Belgian colony.
Many were too shocked to speak of their experiences in the city, while
others described seeing mutilated corpses in the streets when they
dared to leave their houses.
Belgium, like other Western nations, has begun evacuating its 1,500
nationals from the tiny central African state following the violence
that flared last week after the president was assassinated in a rocket
attack on his plane.
We were on the terrace when we heard the rocket attack -- though we
didn't know what it was. The fighting began the next morning and our
(Rwandan) housekeeper warned us not to leave the house,
said Marc
Hellingh, who had been visiting friends.
When it was quiet we went outside, and saw French paratroops. They
asked us if we wanted to be evacuated and we seized the chance,
he
said.
Hellingh described seeing Rwandans armed with machetes at the roadside
and trucks piled with bodies.
It was butchery,
he said.
A DC-10 flew 192 evacuees into Brussels national airport early on
Tuesday and a further 204 people arrived on a Boeing 747 a few hours
later. A third plane carrying about 200 was expected later on Tuesday.
Mostly Belgians, the evacuees had been airlifted from Kigali to
Nairobi, at the request of the Belgian government, in Belgian military
C-130 planes and then flown directly to Brussels on planes belonging to
the Belgian national airline, Sabena.
Mireille Jacob, a Belgian who had been on her first visit to Rwanda
said she had stayed inside for five days and nights during the
fighting.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) were behind us and the government
troops in front -- our house was between. If they had wanted to touch
us, they could have,
she said.
We had no electricity or telephone, and had to eat what we had --
pancakes, potatoes. There was looting,
she added, describing seeing
mutilated corpses.
Belgium's Foreign Ministry denied reports that its ambassador had fled
Kigali with the German and French envoys and arrived in neighbouring
Burundi.
The ministry said it was still in telephone contact with the ambassador
in Kigali where he was continuing his work.
Defence Minister Leo Delcroix warned on Sunday of the risks in the
evacuation and said it could take more than a week.
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 Foreign Minister Willy Claes defended in a radio interview on
Tuesday the presence of Belgian troops in Rwanda as part of the United
Nations force but said the U.N. mandate had probably been too limited.
Ten Belgian peacekeepers were murdered in Kigali last Thursday as they
tried to protect the prime minister who was later slain.
Claes said that Belgium had sent troops at the request of the Rwandan
authorities and the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which groups Rwandan
rebels.
But we refused to lead the operation which is why we sent about half
the troops requested,
he told Belgian radio.
Tribal violence has been a bloody theme in the history of both Rwanda
and neighbouring Burundi, which became independent in 1962.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
