Citation
From James Bone in New York.
THE Vatican has appealed to the United Nations to deploy peacekeeping
forces to turn a religious complex in Rwanda into a safe area
to
prevent the massacre of some 30,000 mainly Tutsi civilians who have
taken refuge there.
Archibishop Renato Martino, the Holy See's Representative at the UN,
made the request in a letter to the Security Council after the Red
Cross handed the Pope a message from Rwandan bishops. The refugees have
sought sanctuary from the Hutu-led massacres in the main seminary at
Kabgayi, five miles south of the Hutu rump government's base in
Gitarama.
The bishops told the Pope that the religious centre, which includes a
monastery, schools and a hospital, was being protected by government
forces. But they said the army could not guarantee the safety of the
refugees from local Hutu militias if the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan
Patriotic Front advanced. Mgr Martino wrote to Security Council members
that the refugees are in a desperate situation which worsens with each
passing hour
and appealed for immediate action to avoid the
continuation of the horrendous slaughter which already has taken so
many lives
.
The UN has agreed to increase its 400-man force to up to 5,500, but the
first reinforcement phase, by 500 Ghanaians, has yet to happen because
of a shortage of armoured personnel carriers.
