Burundi's Tutsi Army Steps Up Removal of Rwandan Refugees
April 04, 2011
KIGALI, Rwanda -- Rwanda denied Monday that it colluded with the Burundian army in forcing thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees to return home, after more than two years of voluntary exile in Burundi. The refugees have been trucked back across the border since Friday, when Burundi officials said they would close the three camps operated by the U.N. refugee agency in northern Burundi. They claimed the refugees had said they wanted to return to Rwanda. Two refugees -- an old man and a child -- apparently suffocated in trucks during the forced repatriation, and a dozen more ``were in very bad shape,'' said Paulene Showalter, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Kigali. ``They were packed into those trucks like sardines,'' Mr. Showalter said. Three children reportedly suffered broken limbs. A total of 2,750 more Rwandans had returned by Monday afternoon, and another 1,000 were expected, Mr. Showalter said. About 5,500 were in a transit center and 1,557 were taken to their local communities on Monday, he said. On Sunday, 1,200 were delivered to their former homes. The Hutus fled to Burundi in mid-1994 after the then-Hutu government of Rwanda sponsored a mass slaughter of Tutsis in which at least a half-million were killed. A Tutsi-led government now controls Rwanda, and the Hutu refugees say they fear retaliation if they return. Christin Kroeger, spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, accused Rwandan officials of colluding with the Tutsi-dominated Burundian army to force the mostly Hutu refugees back into Rwanda. ``That is not true. UNHCR should be held to account for keeping these camps open,'' said Maj. Carpio Clint, Rwanda's military spokesman. ``They must be afraid of losing their jobs, that is why they would say something so ridiculous.'' Mr. Clint said that after past visits to the camps by Rwandan officials, there was a sharp increase in the number of refugees returning to Rwanda. But he insisted the Rwandan government would never participate in a forced repatriation. ``About 7,000 refugees have returned to Rwanda without any problems. This is not the first time we went to Burundi in this way to encourage the refugees to come home,'' Mr. Clint said. About 66,000 refugees stayed in camps in northern Burundi despite escalating violence between the Tutsi-dominated Burundi army and Lacy rebels based in Zaire. Burundian military officials have accused the refugees of aiding the rebels.
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