Citation
KIGALI, April 6 (Reuter) - A private radio station in Rwanda said on
Wednesday the Rwandan presidential plane was ablaze at Kigali airport
after being shot at and the head of state was believed to be aboard.
Radio-Television Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM) said unidentified
gunmen shot at the plane shortly after it landed at the Rwandan
capital's airport. It was believed to be carrying President Juvenal
Habyarimana back from a summit in Tanzania.
RTLM, which is allied to the 57-year-old president, broadcast the
report after its normal close and said it would continue reporting on
the attack until it had details of the victims.
No independent confirmation of the report was immediately available.
Residents in the centre of Kigali, which is about 15 km (nine miles)
west of the airport, said they heard six loud explosions followed by
sporadic shooting after dark and a small plane could be heard circling,
apparently unable to land.
Habyarimana was due back from a one-day summit in Dar es Salaam called
by Tanzania's President Ali Hassan Mwinyi in a bid to help end tribal
violence in Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
