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UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (AFP) - Rwandan rebels have entered the Rwandan capital, Kigali, and joined a batallion of 600 fellow fighters surrounded by government troops in the city, the United Nations said Tuesday.
The troops of the Tutsi-based Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) "have moved through the demilitarized zone, are inside the city and have linked up with the 600 or so RPF military personnel who have been in the city," UN spokesman Joe Sills said.
He also said that Ghanaian troops, which are part of a UN mission in the demilitarized zone, were in the town of Buyumba 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Kigali which was under shelling.
The rebels had earlier announced that they were ready to join up with their comrades in the Rwandan capital.
"Our forces are now within eyeshot of the place where our 600-strong unit is," said Christine Umutoni, spokeswoman for the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) office in neighboring Uganda.
She said RPF forces were not in a hurry to take Kigali and would move slowly to avoid massive destruction of the city.
Many government troops were deserting and joining rebel forces, she claimed.
Reports from Kigali said the interim government left the Kigali hotel where it had taken up residence, for an unknown destination as shooting intensified in several areas around the city.
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