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August 2, 2023 French

À Gikongoro ce matin, le colonel de Stabenrath passe le bâton blanc de commandement à son homologue ghanéen

Card Number 30477

Number
30477
Author
Hugues, Thomas
Author
Pons, Nellie
Date
18 août 1994
Ymd
19940818
Time
13:00:00
Time zone
CEST
Uptitle
Journal de 13 heures
Title
À Gikongoro ce matin, le colonel de Stabenrath passe le bâton blanc de commandement à son homologue ghanéen
Subtitle
Les militaires sont satisfaits : ils estiment la population confiante puisqu'elle ne quitte pas massivement la zone.
Size
20587 bytes
Pages nb.
2
Source
TF1
Public records
INA
Type
Transcription d'une émission de télévision
Language
FR
Abstract
- It is officially Sunday evening [August 21] at midnight that all the French soldiers of Operation Turquoise must have left Rwanda.
- Last review of the troops in Gikongoro this morning, on the border of the French zone. Colonel Stabenrath hands the white baton of command to his Ghanaian counterpart. At that moment, and very officially, the French mission in this region came to an end. The soldiers are satisfied: they consider the population confident since it does not leave the area en masse.
- However, this very morning, as the handover of power is taking place, "30,000 people are on their way across the French zone", said the ICRC. "Only 11,000 have crossed the border", answer the military. Anyway, they are not panicking: we are far from the terrible exodus from Goma. Lieutenant-Colonel Eric de Stabenrath, "Commander of the Gikongoro Group": "We are noticing returns to the area. So the balance is not that negative at the moment".
- The French are leaving the region, leaving a population full of uncertainties, trapped between the fear of Zaire, its camps and its epidemics. And the fear of return, retaliation and revenge. And also the fear, in this area, after the departure of the French, of no longer being protected.