RWANDA: TANZANIAN AUTHORITIES CLOSE DOWN BORDER REFUGEE CAMPS

(17 Dec 1996) English/Nat The Tanzanian authorities are closing down the refugee camps near the border with Rwanda. Hundred thousands of - mainly - Hutu refugees are now heading back on foot into Rwanda. The International Red Cross also here fears it will be unable to cope with the vast flow of people. Following the flow of refugees returning to Rwanda from camps in East Zaire, it seems to be happening all over again. This massive wave of refugees are crossing the Tanzanian-Rwandan border to transit camps where they will be given a weeks' food rations. Men and women balanced their possessions on their heads or on carts as they spilled down the road from Tanzania to Rwanda. They are about 5 kilometres away from the border from Rwanda and are crossing at an average rate of 10-thousand people an hour. Aid workers fear they will be unable to cope with the huge influx of people. SOUNDBITE: (English) "What we are trying to do is to get the people across and get them moving on up the road. Provide them with as much assistance as we can. But when you're looking at this sort of numbers... We're now looking into the, I would say a rough guess would be at least a 100.000 crossing today. We're gonna find it very difficult to manage." SUPER CAPTION: Peter Buchanan, IFRC Rwanda relief co-ordinator Red Cross workers have been monitoring the numbers with mechanical counters. They are counted at the bridge over the Kagera River that forms the boundary between the two countries. After two and a half years of exile, an estimated 535-thousand are expected to move by the end of the week. The refugees were ordered to leave Tanzania by the end of the year. And Tanzanian authorities have been firing warning shots into the air to move the refugees on. These two sisters are 74 years old and finding the journey a real struggle. SOUNDBITE: (Kinyarwandan) "My back aches. My legs hurt. We've been walking for two days now. It's been very difficult." SUPER CAPTION: Refugees Jerome Sherugenra, was separated from his wife and baby when they fled camps almost a week ago. He has 3 of their children with him. SOUNDBITE: (Kinyarwandan) "I haven't seen any Interhamwe. The Tanzanian army came and told us they were closing the camps and we must go home. I am happy to be back." SUPER CAPTION: Jerome Sherugenra Nearly 1.2 (m) million Hutus fled Rwanda in 1994 and scattered into neighbouring countries, including Zaire and Tanzania, fearing retribution for a Hutu-led genocide. The bicycles loaded with goods were pushed - as there was no room for riders. One baby was strapped atop a load on a wheelbarrow. In Nairobi, Kenya, African leaders began a two-day meeting Monday to discuss regional problems, including the uprising in Zaire, political and ethnic violence in Burundi and the Rwandan refugees' return. The Rwandan refugees on the move on Monday were headed to transit camps, where the UN High Commissioner for Refugees used 180 trucks to shuttle people home. Once the refugees are shuttled from transit centres, they receive a week's worth of food rations. At one station in Tanzania, Red Cross workers used twine to tie the hands of children to their mothers so they wouldn't be separated as they streamed from the Benaco camp and moved along the road. The large camp was all but empty Monday as the refugees headed for the border 18 kms (11 miles) away. Aid workers swept through the camp, finding very ill people who could not travel. They had been left to die. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...