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UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (AFP) - The rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front said Tuesday they would have control of Kigali by Wednesday and ordered foreign troops to leave Rwanda or face being attacked.
Claude Dusaidi, a rebel representative at UN headquarters in New York, told reporters that foreign troops had 24 hours to evacuate all foreigners and leave the country.
"If they don't and remain longer than expected we shall engage them in combat," he told reporters.
"Our intention is to neutralize the presidential guard and the other bandit elements and bring law and order to Kigali," he said, adding: "We hope to have full control of Kigali tomorrow (Wednesday)."
Nearly 2,500 rebel fighters entered the Rwandan capital and joined a battalion of 600 fellow fighters surrounded by government troops in the city, said Dusaidi.
Dusaidi said UN peacekeepers were being encouraged to stay. They had been deployed to the east African country to monitor a 1993 peace agreement signed in Arusha, Tanzania.
"We are still commited to the Arusha peace agreement and we hope that as soon as we have restored law and order we shall be able to implement it," he said.
The United States, France and Switzerland said Tuesday that all of their nationals had been evacuated from Rwanda. Germany said nearly all of its people had left.
