Interahamwe again a threat in northwest

A series of attacks and confrontations throughout December appeared to confirm reliable reports of the infiltration into Rwanda from DRC of Interahamwe militias, and of a general increase in clashes between Interahamwe and Rwandan Patriotic Army forces, in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri prefectures, humanitarian sources have told IRIN. Recent incidents in Ruhondo and Nyamutera communes in Ruhengeri, and in Tamira resettlement site in Mutara commune, Gisenyi prefecture, confirmed that the Interahamwe were still operating from the volcanic forests in eastern DRC, on the border with Uganda and around Gishwati, which appears to be their in-country hide-out, they said. Relief agencies were again considering the safety of workers on the Kigali-Ruhengeri road, on which the need for military escorts had been lifted last July thanks to an improving security situation, IRIN was told.