Multinational commander going back to east Zaire .
Jonathan Wright
NAIROBI 1996-12-06
The Canadian general in charge of a multinational force for eastern Zaire said on Friday he was going back to Zaire for more information about the plight of about 165,000 Rwandan refugees adrift in the countryside .
Lieutenant-General Maurice Baril told a news conference in Nairobi his main concern was for a large group of about 150,000 refugees living off the land in a valley about 65 km ( 40 miles ) west of the eastern city of Goma .
If he decided it was necessary and safe for the aircrew , he would not hesitate to order airdrops of food for the refugees , even against the wishes of the government in Kinshasa and the Zairean rebels who control much of eastern Zaire , he said .
" Tomorrow I 'm going into Rwanda and my intention is to go across into eastern Zaire and try to find out for the second time what the situation is on the ground , " he said .
General Baril saw rebel leader Laurent Kabila in Goma last week but the rebels told him the crisis was over because most of the Rwandan refugees have already gone home .
The rebels do not want the multinational force to deploy on the ground , for fear it might help the Zairean army regain control of the area .
Kinshasa opposes airdrops , apparently because the food could fall into the hands of the rebels and their local supporters .
Canadian Defence Minister Doug Young said on Thursday that the multinational force would probably not have to make food airdrops or intervene militarily in any major way .
" It does n't look as though they ( airdrops ) are going to be required in any significant way because the NGOs ( non-governmental organisations ) are in that area on the border between Zaire and Rwanda , " Young told reporters .
But General Baril said it would be premature to rule out any course of action until he had more information .
" We hope that if the front moves forward or stabilises then we will have access ( to the large group of refugees ) with reconnaissance or humanitarian agencies .
" If they ca n't move because they are too weak , then we will probably consider very seriously using air delivery means ( airdrops ) ...It 's complex , it 's dangerous for the air crew that fly in there and it will have to be absolutely necessary .
If it is necessary , I wo n't hesitate to use it , " he said .
Asked if he would disregard the objections of the Zairean government , he said : " It would have to be in the last resort .
It would have to mean that tens of thousands of lives are in danger .
Do you think that I would have a conscience problem doing it or not at that time ?
And my mandate is also under Chapter Seven to operate in eastern Zaire . "
Under Chapter Seven of the U.N. charter , the Security Council has wide powers to preserve peace and security .
" I know their ( the Zairean government 's ) position and I know it 's very delicate and we are very sensitive to their position also , " the general added .
He denied that his contacts , criticised by Kinshasa , with the Zairean rebels amounted to negotiations .
" I do n't negotiate , " he said . "
I coordinate with those who are holding ground and that 's a wise thing to do .
When we do n't know where the front is , we do n't know what the risk is . "
Baril said that apart from the group of 150,000 , U.S. and British reconnaissance plans had tracked two much smaller groups of refugees -- one of up to 1,000 north of the town of Masisi and one of up to 8,000 on the road from Bukavu west to Kindu .
The Kisangani office of the medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres said on Friday that more than 100,000 refugees were trekking northwest from the Goma-Bukavu area and many of them were now in the town of Walikale .
The general did not mention these refugees , who are on the outer limit of the strip the planes have been checking .