Rebels kill 35 in attack on bus - Rwandan news agency report

Text of report by Rwanda News Agency

Text Kigali, 19th January: A group of armed "Interahamwe" [Hutu extremist] militiamen ambushed a bus carrying workers of the Rwanda Breweries Company (Bralirwa) this morning [19th January], killing 35 people and wounding 35 others.

"The massacre occurred as the bus transporting the employees from the town was stopped by a small group of armed criminals," officials in Gisenyi [northwestern Rwanda] told Rwanda News Agency.

The criminals reportedly attempted to separate the workers along ethnic lines without success.

When they noticed they had been discovered, they opened fire indiscriminately and set the bus on fire.

It was possible to identify 25 bodies, while 10 of the 35 seriously wounded died at Gisenyi Hospital where they had been taken for treatment.

The death toll is expected to rise as many more workers who jumped out of the bus remain unaccounted for, the officials pointed out.

Local residents and security forces have immediately started to comb the bushes around the scene of the massacre looking for possible survivors.

Source: Rwanda News Agency, Kigali, in English 1050 gmt 19 Jan 98

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