11 soldats belges et le Premier ministre ont été tués à Kigali. La situation est insurrectionnelle depuis l'attaque, hier [6 avril], de l'avion qui avait à son bord les Présidents du Rwanda et du Burundi

Lefait, Philippe

Mavic, Florence

7 avril 1994

19940407

24:00:00

CEST

Journal de 24 heures [2:28]

11 soldats belges et le Premier ministre ont été tués à Kigali. La situation est insurrectionnelle depuis l'attaque, hier [6 avril], de l'avion qui avait à son bord les Présidents du Rwanda et du Burundi

La mort brutale des deux chefs d'État risque de relancer la guerre tribale qui oppose au Rwanda, comme au Burundi, deux ethnies.

1994-04-07-12fr2.mp4

9430950 bytes

France 2

INA

Journal télévisé

FR

- News abroad dominated by the situation in Rwanda: this evening the Belgian government, meeting in a crisis council, plans to evacuate its nationals. 11 Belgian soldiers were killed in Kigali. 17 Rwandan priests were also victims of score settling in the capital. And the Prime Minister, a woman, was killed. The situation has been insurrectionary since yesterday's attack on the plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi.
- It had been 20 years since Major General Habyarimana was at the head of Rwanda, following a coup d'etat. A tough man who resented seeing his power challenged by an increasingly demanding opposition. Cyprien Ntaryamira was almost a novice. He had occupied the chair of President of Burundi only since last January. Chosen by Parliament, he wanted to be a man of dialogue.
- Both were returning from a summit of African heads of state in Tanzania. Their plane was reportedly shot down as it landed at the airport in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. For the moment it is not known who is behind what looks like an attack.
- As soon as the news was known, Kigali ignited. And the French-speaking community is following with some fear the fighting that has broken out since this morning. Patrick Gasser, "ICRC Kigali Rwanda": "There is a lot of tension, we hear shooting, explosions, grenades, mortars. I have indications that there are houses being looted. I am not in a position to to tell you exactly who is shooting who at this point is impossible. The security is such that we cannot afford to move".
- The Prime Minister of Rwanda would have been killed as well as three Belgian military observers, members of the United Nations.
- The brutal death of the two Heads of State risks relaunching the tribal war which opposes in Rwanda, as in Burundi, two ethnic groups. For generations, the Hutu, the majority, have been fighting the Tutsi, the minority, throwing thousands of refugees onto the paths.
- About 600 French aid workers live in Rwanda, 700 in neighboring Burundi. Perhaps they will be forced to leave these two countries in the coming days.