Annan visits camp hosting ex-Interahamwe

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday visited Nkumba camp, in Ruhengeri province, northwestern Rwanda, which is currently hosting more than 1,200 ex-Interahamwe militia. According to a UN statement, the fighters welcomed Annan with singing and dancing. The lot, formerly Rwandan army and militias, who were driven into the DRC in 1994 following the genocide in Rwanda, are being prepared for reintegration into the Rwandan society. A lieutenant in the former Rwandan army addressed Annan on behalf of the ex-fighters, acknowledging his side’s military defeat and asking for international support as they reintegrate into Rwandan society. Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Bernard Makuza, who accompanied Annan, thanked him for his support for the integration process, “which is an essential step in the rebuilding of the nation”. In war, all are losers,” Annan told the ex-combatants and asked them to work together to see that the genocide is never repeated.

Upon his return to Kigali, Annan visited the Gisozi genocide memorial. The wreath he and his wife Nane laid there, bore the inscription “Souvenon Nous,” (Never Forget). He met with the civil society and concluded his Rwanda visit at the ICTR office where he met national and international UN staff. He later conferred with ICTR’s registrar, Adama Dieng.