From irin@dha.unon.org Tue Nov 12 20:53:44 1996 Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 17:59:00 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes To: irinwire@dha.unon.org Subject: Rwanda-Zaire: WFP prepositions food stocks in Rwanda 96.10.27 WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME News Release October 27, 1996 WFP PREPOSITIONS FOODSTOCKS IN RWANDA The World Food Programme has begun prepositioning food supplies inside Rwanda along the border with Zaire amid reports that over 4,500 people fleeing armed clashes have crossed into the country. Thousands more are said to be massing at the border. WFP staff report that on Sunday in the town of Gisenyi, about 4,500 people crossed over from Goma, Zaire. It's estimated that 3,000 of these are Zairians and the rest are Rwandan refugees who fled to Zaire in 1994. Nine of the Zairian refugees were wounded, five seriously. More than 10,000 people are estimated to have massed on the Goma side of the border where fighting continues north of the town. In Cyangugu, across the river from the Zairian town of Bukavu, an estimated 250 to 500 people have crossed into Rwanda. WFP has already prepositioned 7,000 two-month rations in Gisenyi as well as 10,000 rations in Cyangugu. WFP plans to immediately preposition an additional 63,000 rations in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The agency is also readying 300,000 additional rations which can be in Rwanda within a week. "We don't know if this sudden spurt of returnees will turn into a growing trend," said WFP spokesman Trevor Rowe. "But we don't want to be caught napping if it turns into a flood." In response, WFP has decided to divert about 85 trucks bearing a cargo of food from the Uganda-Zaire border where they had been blocked for several days. The vehicles had initially been destined for Goma but could not cross the border because of worsened security conditions. The trucks, bearing a cargo of maize and split peas, have been redirected to Rwanda. Overall, WFP estimates it has enough food in the region to feed the over 1.2 million refugees in eastern Zaire as well as the 600,000 refugees in Tanzania for the next three months. The United Nations World Food Programme is the largest international food-aid agency. Last year it helped feed over 50 million people, including half of the world's refugees and displaced people. For further information, contact: Trevor Rowe WFP/Rome Chief Spokesman Tel:39-6-5228-2602 679-6565 Francis Mwanza WFP/Rome Information Officer Tel:39-6-5228-2623 519-1569 Brenda Barton WFP/Nairobi Field Officer Tel:254-2-622704 [ENDS] [Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network "Wire" mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN DHA IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more information. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]