Troops ‘Persuading’ Hutus To Leave

Wed., Feb. 14, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

Zairean troops surrounded a large camp of Rwandan refugees early Tuesday, beginning what United Nations officials described as an intensive campaign to persuade 190,000 Hutu refugees from Rwanda to return home.

A small Zairean force of about 250 soldiers from a border-patrol unit known as the Civil Guard surrounded the sprawling camp at 6 a.m., officials said. The lightly armed men ringed the smoky tent city like sentries. U.N. officials said the refugees looked on calmly.

The move was part of a new effort by Zaire to close the 40 Rwandan refugee camps on its soil by cutting them off from the surrounding community. The plan was agreed to in December at a meeting in Geneva between Zaire, the United Nations and officials from the Tutsi-led government in Rwanda.

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Troops ‘Persuading’ Hutus To Leave

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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