Zaire - Wrap Of Refugee Situation

(17 Jul 1994) Rebel forces drove tens of thousands of Rwandan refugees and the
government's defeated army across the border into Zaire on Sunday
(17/7) adding to the humanitarian catastrophe that has defeated
aid agencies. The flood of terrified Rwandans turned into a
torrent as panic spread around the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi,
last refuge of the Hutu government which has largely vanished.
Reporters on the border heard mortar fire in the distance.
Government soldiers fleeing into Zaire with their weapons,
including trucks towing anti-aircraft guns, said the rebel Rwanda
Patriotic Front (RPF) was within 12 km (eight miles) of Gisenyi. A
human wall of tens of thousands of people packed three main
crossing points between Gisenyi and Goma just inside Zaire.
Zairean soldiers at the border looted money and belongings from
the refugees and tried to disarm some of the soldiers. By Sunday
afternoon, the United Nations estimated between 800,000 and one
million refugees were in the Goma area. The UNHCR appealed for an
immediate ceasefire to avert a disaster and help stem the tide of
refugees. But a spokesman for the rebels said they would press on
with their advance until a new government was formed in the
war-ravaged country, where aid workers say more than half a
million people have been massacred since early April. And while
international aid flights have started arriving, relief workers
feel demoralised. Conditions in the world's largest refugee camp
are abismal: sanitation is virtually non existant and a murkey
lake offers the only ready source of water. French troops have
been bringing supplies of clean water but not enough. The
International Committee for the Red Cross has started registering
unaccompanied children in the Goma area in the hope their parents
will one day be able to find them. But, chances are, many of these
youngsters are orphans.
SHOWS:
GOMA, ZAIRE 17/7
children in refugee camp
red cross nurse, nina winquist, sot: the urgency is food and
medicine then to find who they are and to reunite them with their
families
refugees with belongings crossing border into zaire
refugees being checked by zairean soldiers
rwandan government soldiers crossing border
masses of refugees crossing border
refugees gathering water
french soldiers preparing convoy
french troops with supplies
troops driving off
zairean soldiers collecting weapons
stockpile of weapons
refugees walking along road with belongings
people rushing along road
people running in field
shell explodes
another shell explodes
people rushing along road as more shells explode
more people running
french soldiers attending wounded
runs 3.56
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[@piotrg.1855]

,,People to people dealt this fate."
Zofia Nałkowska.

[@niyovalens5019]

Too sad😭

[@ngogafred4865]

Those are the weapons they used to kill us

[@cyizanoah4283]

Who killed who