Citation
BRUSSELS, April 9 (Reuter) - Belgium had paratroops on alert on
Saturday ready to help evacuate foreigners from its former African
colony of Rwanda, where 10 Belgian U.N. soldiers were killed trying in
vain to protect the country's prime minister.
The Belgian government said on Friday it had decided on measures to
guarantee the safety of Belgian nationals there, though it gave no
details because it wanted to protect lives.
It also said it had urged the United Nations to apply stronger security
measures for U.N. troops in Rwanda.
The government is extremely worried about the deterioration of the
situation in Rwanda and particularly about the threats against Belgian
nationals,
a government statement said.
A Belgian defence ministry spokesman told Reuters the government gave
instructions to the army to prepare the necessary measures for
evacuation
.
Diplomats at the United Nations said Belgium was also considering
asking that the peacekeeping force be expanded to include, under a U.N.
flag, any troops it might send to rescue its citizens in Rwanda.
The commander of the Belgian U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda said on
Belgian state radio RTBF that a ceasefire was being negotiated between
the warring sides and ought to come into effect by 6.30 a.m (0430 GMT)
on Saturday morning.
Colonel Luc Marchal said fighting between government forces and Rwandan
Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels continued on Friday afternoon as both
sides appeared to be seeking to improve their territorial positions
ahead of a ceasefire.
There are about 1,500 Belgian nationals in Rwanda and Government
sources said they would have to decide themselves whether they wanted
to leave the country.
Belgian national airline Sabena had said earlier on Friday that a
Boeing 737 plane would be on standby in Entebbe, Uganda, on Friday
night for the possible evacuation of foreigners.
Rwanda's capital, Kigali, was plunged into an orgy of ethnic violence
and looting after the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda were killed on
Wednesday when a rocket hit their airliner as they returned from peace
talks in Tanzania.
Rwanda, one of the smallest and poorest African states, has suffered
from a civil war along tribal lines for four years.
A defence ministry spokesman said two battalions of Belgian paratroops
-- 800 men -- were on alert for a possible evacuation, which could be
carried out in cooperation with French forces.
France, which has 600 nationals in Rwanda, has put 8,600 troops at
bases in central and western Africa on alert.
Extra troops would have to be sent for any rescue mission because a
2,500-strong U.N. force in Rwanda has no mandate to protect or evacuate
foreign nationals.
The Belgian armed forces said the 10 dead soldiers, part of the U.N.
force, were disarmed and executed by Rwandan troops at a military camp
in Kigali on Thursday.
They had been protecting Prime Minister Agathe Unilingyimana, whose
residence was surrounded. The Belgian soldiers were taken prisoner as
they tried to cover her flight and she was killed.
The Belgian government expressed its indignation about the deaths,
saying the soldiers, died in the peaceful exercise of their mission.
Colonel Luc Marchal earlier told Belgian radio their bodies were in a
Kigali hospital and would be flown home.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
