Naxivan
18-08-2004, 14:46
Burundi, Rwanda threaten Congo invasion
By Associated Press | August 18, 2004
BUJUMBURA, Burundi -- Burundi and Rwanda threatened yesterday to send soldiers into neighboring Congo to hunt down Hutu extremists responsible for slaughtering more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees at a UN camp in Burundi -- deployments that could reignite a regional conflict in this part of Africa.
A spokesman for the Congo government, Henri Mova Sakanyi, said his nation wanted to resolve the situation diplomatically but would be "obliged to react" if foreign troops crossed its border.
Burundi's army chief also accused Congolese soldiers of participating in Friday's massacre, which witnesses said was launched from Congo.
The United Nations said it suspended talks with the Burundian Hutu rebels who claimed responsibility for the killings because "it seems they are not willing to contribute to the peace process."
UN peacekeepers were helping local forces step up security along each side of the Burundi-Congo border and UN helicopters are patrolling the area, UN associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.
Dujarric called on Burundian authorities to "exercise restraint."
Burundi army Brigadier General Germain Niyoyankana said troops were prepared to cross into Congo to pursue the rebels.
"We must avoid a new attack from Congo so the Burundi army does not rule out an offensive in . . . Congo. Everything depends on the Congolese government," Niyoyankana said. "Our president has asked the Congolese government for an explanation."
Civil wars between majority Hutus and minority Tutsis in Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo have ravaged the region for more than a decade. The conflicts include the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which an estimated 500,000 people -- mostly Tutsis -- were killed, an ongoing civil war in Burundi, and a five-year war in Congo.
Rwanda and Burundi twice have invaded Congo trying to root out Hutu militias. The second invasion, in 1998, sparked a war in Congo involving six African countries. An estimated 3.5 million died during the conflict.
By Associated Press | August 18, 2004
BUJUMBURA, Burundi -- Burundi and Rwanda threatened yesterday to send soldiers into neighboring Congo to hunt down Hutu extremists responsible for slaughtering more than 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees at a UN camp in Burundi -- deployments that could reignite a regional conflict in this part of Africa.
A spokesman for the Congo government, Henri Mova Sakanyi, said his nation wanted to resolve the situation diplomatically but would be "obliged to react" if foreign troops crossed its border.
Burundi's army chief also accused Congolese soldiers of participating in Friday's massacre, which witnesses said was launched from Congo.
The United Nations said it suspended talks with the Burundian Hutu rebels who claimed responsibility for the killings because "it seems they are not willing to contribute to the peace process."
UN peacekeepers were helping local forces step up security along each side of the Burundi-Congo border and UN helicopters are patrolling the area, UN associate spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.
Dujarric called on Burundian authorities to "exercise restraint."
Burundi army Brigadier General Germain Niyoyankana said troops were prepared to cross into Congo to pursue the rebels.
"We must avoid a new attack from Congo so the Burundi army does not rule out an offensive in . . . Congo. Everything depends on the Congolese government," Niyoyankana said. "Our president has asked the Congolese government for an explanation."
Civil wars between majority Hutus and minority Tutsis in Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo have ravaged the region for more than a decade. The conflicts include the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which an estimated 500,000 people -- mostly Tutsis -- were killed, an ongoing civil war in Burundi, and a five-year war in Congo.
Rwanda and Burundi twice have invaded Congo trying to root out Hutu militias. The second invasion, in 1998, sparked a war in Congo involving six African countries. An estimated 3.5 million died during the conflict.