Citation
ROME, April 12 (Reuter) - Italy said on Tuesday it had sent 80 troops
to help guarantee security at Kigali airport as the evacuation of
westerners from the blood-stained central African country of Rwanda
continues.
The 80 marines and paratroopers would work with French and Belgian
troops protecting the airport in the Rwandan capital, the Italian
foreign ministry said in a statement.
Italy despatched the troops and three C-130 transporters on Sunday to
Nairobi. The evacuation effort is being directed from the Kenyan
capital.
A further 80 troops are on their way from Italy to Kenya.
Forty Italians were flown from Kigali to Nairobi on Tuesday while
another 20 left on a Belgian flight, the statement said. A further 21
Italians were evacuated on Monday.
The Italian foreign ministry said at the weekend there were around 190
Italians in Rwanda.
Many foreigners in Rwanda have watched in horror as drunken soldiers
from the majority Hutu tribe have hunted down and killed anyone
suspected of being opposed to slain president Juvenal Habyarimana.
Most of the dead come from the minority Tutsi tribe, once the country's
feudal overlords, but many Hutus have been singled out as well.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
