Banyamulenge said surrounded by Mayi-Mayi

Mayi-Mayi militia forces have reportedly surrounded the Moyen Plateau area of South Kivu and have launched attacks against the ethnic Tutsi Banyamulenge population there, independent humanitarian sources told IRIN on Thursday. The Mayi-Mayi are said to be under Zimbabwe’s command, and Banyamulenge sources have reported a large loss of life. There has been no independent confirmation of the deaths, but the Banyamulenge community in South Kivu on 19 February issued a statement warning that a “campaign to exterminate” them was being planned.

Anti-Banyamulenge leaflets have been distributed in Bukavu and the anti-Tutsi hate station Radio Patriote has resumed its broadcasts. The humanitarian sources told IRIN that 700 Banyamulenge have fled to the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, since the beginning of the year. A further 200 families arrived at Bwagera in the Rusizi plain of South Kivu, but since the Mayi-Mayi surrounded the Moyen Plateau, very few people have been able to leave. About 200 more families have apparently been rounded up in Uvira by the Rwandan army and prevented from crossing the border into Burundi.

According to the Banyamulenge, the Rwandan authorities want them to go to Rwanda, rather than to Burundi. Observers note that relations between the Banyamulenge and the Rwandan army have been steadily declining since last year.