Trial date for Nsengiyumva set after a status conference

The trial date of Anatole Nsengiyumva, a former Lieutenant-Colonel in the Rwandan Army, has been set for February 9 1998.

Earlier before the Trial Chamber 2, the Defence Counsel of Obed Ruzindana presented motions for orders for protective measures for its witnesses. Ruling on the motions will be delivered on Monday, October 6 1997.

Meanwhile, the two Trial Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda today heard evidence on the sudden deterioration of security and the subsequent massacres and killings in Rwanda in early 1994.

Before Trial Chamber 1, Captain Luc Lemaire from Belgium, a former senior military officer with UNAMIR, testified in the case of George Anderson Rutaganda. Before Trial Chamber 2, a witness pseudo named, "V”, testified in the joint case of Clement Kayishema and Obed Ruzindana.

Captain Lemaire told the Chamber that his Belgian battalion under the United Nations witnessed such deterioration of security in and around Kigali in early 1994 that it set up defence positions around its camps. He added that thousands of people came to seek refuge at the ETO College, where the battalion had put its base, when the killings began, and thousands of them were massacred after the battalion left. The witness will continue with his testimony tomorrow.

Witness "V” told Trial Chamber 2 that he sought refuge in Mubuga Church in Kibuye prefecture, in which thousands of people were later massacred before he managed to escape. He identified Kayishema and Ruzindana as among those who came with the killers. Cross examination of the witness by the Defence will continue tomorrow.