THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408130307
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: KIGALI, RWANDA LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
U.S. military officials do not plan to increase the level of troops in the Rwandan relief operation, and most American soldiers will likely withdraw from Goma, Zaire, within weeks, senior U.S. officers here said.
More than 2,100 U.S. military members are in Africa supporting the operation, mostly in Uganda, Zaire, Rwanda and Kenya. That level represents a new high since U.S. troops joined the relief effort 19 days ago, and the numbers will probably stay about the same ``for right now,'' according to Lt. Gen. Daniel Schroeder, commander of the U.S. Joint Task Force.
Most of the roughly 300 troops now in Goma, near the Rwandan border, will likely leave within several weeks, Schroeder said.
Having set up water distribution points to serve the refugee camps outside Goma, U.S. troops will soon turn the task over to civilian contractors, the general said.
A small military detachment will work with relief agencies, he added.
``The Goma piece, I think, is settled,'' Schroeder said. ``Our water production is now at the point where it is exceeding consumption.''
U.S. military members will stay in Rwanda, where around 220 service members are based at the Kigali airport.
Nearly two weeks after the U.S. Air Force opened the airport to 24-hour-a-day operations, aircraft are bringing in more than 400 tons of humanitarian supplies and equipment daily. by CNB