Part IV: Investigation of Massacres and Other Related Serious Acts of Violence

214. In compliance with its terms of reference, the Commission investigated the massacres and other related serious acts of violence that followed the assassination of President Ndadaye. Since acts of violence in Burundi have at no time ceased since the assassination, and are a consequence of it, the first matter for the Commission to determine was the period of time that should be investigated.

215. As has been stated, as a result of the putsch of Thursday, 21 October 1993, in the course of which President Ndadaye was assassinated, the civilian Government was de facto deprived of the exercise of power from that date until Sunday, 24 October, as its members were killed, took asylum in foreign embassies or went into hiding. Effective power was assumed by a committee, which on the 21 ordered all provincial military commanders to replace the Governors. It was only on Saturday evening that a member of the committee announced the restoration of the constitutional Government. It was during this period of 21 to 24 October that most of the violence took place. The first measure of the Government was to proceed to the pacification of the country by a country wide effort carried out jointly by the civilian authorities, the political leaders and the military. This effort succeeded in putting a stop to most large scale killings, although violence went on in areas beyond its reach and, indeed, has never entirely ceased. A period of comparatively peaceful coexistence followed this pacification effort before the situation again began to deteriorate seriously in the course of 1995. The Commission, therefore, considered that its investigation should focus on this period of violence, lasting a few days, which immediately followed the assassination.

216. The investigation comprised both the acts carried out against Tutsis and some UPRONA Hutus by members of the Hutu population and those carried out against Hutus by the military and by Tutsi civilians.

217. Regarding the nature of the investigation, the Commission, as has been stated, concluded that its mandate could not be interpreted as requiring it to investigate each and every act of violence and determine the author or authors in each case. The Commission, therefore, focused its investigation on trying to determine whether these acts, directed against Tutsis or Hutus, conformed to a pattern that could point to planning, orders, encouragement or criminal negligence from above, or whether they could credibly have been the result of spontaneous or merely local initiatives.

218. Since at the time that these acts of violence took place there was no possibility of communication between civilians at the level of the communes or below, as neither the telephones nor the radio station were operative, the repetition in places wide apart of unusual patterns of conduct could be an indication that they had been planned in advance. The pattern of these acts could also point to whether violence had a solely political motivation or was directed at the deliberate extermination of an ethnic group.

219. With this end in view, and within the limitations imposed by the inadequacy of the means at its disposal, the Commission sought to select some communes in provinces that could be considered to be representative of the events under investigation.

220. According to all available reports, not all provinces of Burundi were equally afflicted by violence in the period under investigation. Some areas, particularly in the south, where the Tutsis are proportionally more numerous, were comparatively unaffected by violence during the period under investigation. Of the provinces seriously affected, most were inaccessible to the Commission due to reported ongoing violent activity by rebels and the Army. Such was the case in the provinces bordering on Zaire and Tanzania, as well as the Province of Karuzi. Provinces bordering on Tanzania posed the additional problem of their distance by road from Bujumbura, which precluded one day missions.

221. These considerations limited the Commission’s choice to five provinces, from which, the Commission chose four: Gitega, Kirundo, Muramvya and Ngozi. Investigation in Kirundo had to be suspended after two missions, due to the reason stated below.

222. In each of these provinces, certain representative communes were selected: Bugendana, Giheta and Gitega in the Province of Gitega; Mbuye, Kiganda and Rutegama in the Province of Muramvya; Kiremba, Mwumba, Tangara and Ruhororo in the Province of Ngozi; and Vumbi and Kirundo in the Province of Kirundo.

223. As a result of the public announcement made by the Commission upon its arrival in Burundi, a number of documents referring to acts of violence in the provinces was submitted to it by various individuals, groups and organizations. The Commission analyzed such documents for indications as to specific events or witnesses, although it by no means treated them as evidence or limited itself to the verification of these sources.

224. The Commission carried out its investigation in the field chiefly through the hearing of witnesses. Witnesses were heard singly, some in Bujumbura, but most of them in the field, in provincial capitals or other locations, in localities as available, where they could not be overheard.

225. Witnesses were sought in the displaced persons camps, in the collines and in the jails. As was to be expected, testimony from some witnesses led in tis turn to the identification of other potential witnesses.

226. The Commission sought, with little success, written evidence that would be pertinent to the investigation. It heard, or had translations made of tapes of, broadcasts by the Burundian and Rwandese radios at the time of the events, and saw films that were made shortly after the events by news media or private persons. Whenever it was deemed useful, photographs were taken.

227. The Commission tried to determine the existence and location of mass graves. It did not, however, attempt to have exhumations carried out. Apart from the fact that it did not have the means to carry out such procedures, the existence of such mass graves is, for the most part, an uncontested fact, and exhumations would add little to an investigation at this stage.

228. Members of the Commission carried out a first mission to Gitega and Muramvya in November 1995. In January 1996, in view of the fact that no investigators had yet been appointed, the Commission decided that some of its members, even if unassisted, should proceed with the investigation in the field.

229. The Province of Muramvya was assigned to Commissioner El Moumni, while the Province of Gitega was assigned to Commissioners Herrera and Maurice. In late February and early March, the Provinces of Ngozi and Kirundo were assigned to Commissioner Herrera while Commissioner Maurice went on alone with Gitega. On 24 April, due to the absence of Commissioner Güney, Commissioner Maurice had to be assigned to the investigation of the assassination of President Ndadaye, and Commissioner Herrera took on both Gitega and Ngozi. Work in Kirundo had to be discontinued. Upon Commissioner Güney’s return on 9 May 1996, Commissioner Maurice again took on sole responsibility for Gitega, but was once more obliged to dedicate his efforts exclusively to the investigation of the assassination upon the resignation of Commissioner Güney from the Commission on 16 May. Gitega was once more assigned to Commissioner Herrera Marcano, simultaneously with Ngozi.

230. The Commissioner working on Muramvya was assisted by the Legal Officer, who volunteered to work as an investigator, while, at first, the two Commissioners working on Gitega carried on the work unassisted.

231. Field work in each province was carried out by a team which, apart from the Commissioners, included at least two interpreters, who were rotated and were also responsible for the transcription of the testimony which they had interpreted; one or two United Nations security officers; and an escort of up to four Burundian gendarmes. Up to two investigators were assigned, as they began to arrive after 12 March, to each team.

232. After January 1996, as the result of an arrangement between the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, officers of the Mission Internationale d’Observation pour le Burundi, MIOB, provided security assistance to the teams in the field. These officers, from the armies of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali, had been posted for over a year in the field. Their knowledge of local conditions and terrain, and their acceptance by all sectors of the population as well as by the Army and Gendarmerie, made their assistance invaluable to the Commission.

233. Several factors contributed to hinder access to evidence:

A. Insecurity

234. The provinces and communes in which the Commission carried out its investigation are situated in the central and northern part of the central highlands of Burundi. As has been stated above, generalized ethnic separation and confrontation exist at present in the region, as well as widespread guerilla activity and harsh repression. Hardly a day went by without reports of violent incidents and civilian victims, which each side attributed to the other. This situation seriously affected the conduct of the investigation. The whole Province of Gitega was inaccessible for several weeks. The Commune of Bugendana was only accessible towards the end of the mission. Northern Gitega and northern Muramvya were the scene of constant activities by guerillas and the Army. The Commission had to rely for its security on the Burundian Gendarmerie, itself involved in operations. The investigation teams could not, without extreme risk of violence from either side, go into areas deemed insecure by the Gendarmerie.

B. Ethnic separation

235. In all the communes under investigation, virtual ethnic separation is now in effect. Tutsis now live in the provincial capitals and in camps for displaced persons, under Army protection. In most communes, only Hutus remain in the countryside. Hutus who still live in the towns or come to market show constant fear. Tutsis from the camps go out in the daytime to farm in the adjoining hills (some of which have been cleansed of Hutus) and return to their camps before nightfall. Some Hutu farmers identified with UPRONA also live in camps.

236. The Commission had unimpeded access to the camps for displaced persons. The camps themselves are under the authority of a Chef de Camp and the commander of the protective Army detachment. Access to the displaced persons was for the most part obtained through the Chef de Camp, who is often also a local political leader. Very few residents of the camps came up on their own to testify.

237. Access to Hutus, except to those in prison, was very difficult. In the towns, they felt closely watched and feared reprisals if they as much as contacted the Commission. In the field, the Commission found itself in a quandary: if it went with the protection of the Gendarmerie, Hutus would be frightened by their presence. To go unprotected meant to invite incidents, which could be initiated by either side. Even so, the Commission, by leaving its military escort behind, and with the invaluable support of the officers of the MIOB, managed to establish limited contact with Hutu farmers. There were indications, however, that some Hutus that had contacted the Commission were later harassed. This posed not only a practical problem to the Commission, but also one of conscience.

C. Lack of judicial powers

238. A serious impediment in the investigation was the Commission’s lack of all power on constraint to summon witnesses or have authorities produce them, to carry out direct inspection and translations of files and records, or to compel exhibition of documents. Although the Commission at all times received the polite cooperation of local judicial authorities (prosecutors and judges), and no limits were placed on its access to prisoners, it depended completely on those authorities for its information regarding all criminal procedures. Prosecution and court records are for the most part written in Kirundi and, due to the rules regarding confidentiality, the Commission could not copy them or have them translated by its own staff. It had, therefore, to rely on the oral translations made by the Burundian judges and prosecutors themselves. A request to the Ministry of Defense for records of military communications during the period under investigation proved fruitless.

239. The Commission had to take into account several factors that contributed to the unreliability of testimony:

A. Ethnic loyalty

240. The present, all-comprising ethnic confrontation in Burundi is not confined to the political or military leadership, but permeates every layer of society. This confrontation is, if anything, stronger in the camps and in the hills of the central and northern highlands, where practically every Hutu and Tutsi family has lost members to ethnic violence. Even the poorest of farmers in either ethnic group feel that their life and that of the members of their family depend on the outcome of this struggle. The Tutsis in the camps are convinced that if their ethnic group lost the monopoly of armed force, they would face extermination at the hands of their neighbors, while the Hutu farmers in the collines, on their part, are convinced that, as long as that monopoly subsists, they will continue to be in constant danger of indiscriminate reprisal, and will have no hope of effective political or economic empowerment. In this atmosphere, a large degree of distortion, suppression or fabrication is to be expected in testimony regarding acts by members of either ethnic group.

B. Time elapsed

241. For the reasons set forth in the introduction, the time elapsed since the events under investigation had a negative effect on the reliability of testimony. This effect was markedly greater on rural witnesses, often illiterate.

C. Manipulation

242. Political propaganda and political activists, present at all levels and aware of the Commission’s mandate, no doubt exerted a powerful influence on witnesses. On several occasions, it could be ascertained that lists of names to be incriminated were provided to witnesses. On others, witnesses from the same camp would refer to the same names or events that, upon questioning, proved to be unfamiliar to them. As has been said, the Chefs de Camp for the most part sought the witnesses for the Commission, and it was as easy for them to make a witness available as it was to make him or her unavailable.

D. Insecurity

243. In the situation of total insecurity and impunity that at present prevails in Burundi, it is understandable that the Commission’s assurances regarding the confidentiality of testimony were met with skepticism. In the case of witnesses who could not express themselves in French (as was the case of practically all the farmers in the camps and collines) the unavoidable presence of two Burundian interpreters of differing ethnic groups no doubt contributed to such skepticism. The Commission had no means to offer witnesses any kind of protection, nor could it offer total or partial immunity in exchange for cooperation. Such a state of affairs was in no way conducive to openness on the part of witnesses.

E. Cultural characteristics

244. It must be borne in mind that the vast majority of witnesses to the massacres and other acts of violence were subsistence farmers who only spoke Kirundi. A large proportion of these was illiterate. For most, the only input of outside information comes from word of mouth or from the single national radio (and sometimes the Rwandese or the rebel radios as well). On their part, the Commissioners and investigators had no knowledge of Kirundi and only the most superficial acquaintance with Burundian culture and social habits. Communication through interpreters of the educated elite and across this cultural gap was, to say the least, difficult and uncertain. To this must be added the fact that, according to all sources, both national and foreign, it is a Burundian cultural trait to take pride in one’s ability to hide one’s thoughts and feelings. In general, openness is felt to be a weakness while deceit is socially accepted. As a rule, witnesses told with apparent impassivity the most horrifying narrations of unspeakable violence (murder, rape, torture, mutilation, etc.) done to themselves or to members of their families.

245. The communes share many characteristics as to geography and population that were relevant to the events under investigation:

246. All the communes have the typical relief of the central highlands: collines with steep sides separated by often marshy valleys. In such a terrain even military vehicles of the type available to Burundian armed forces, cannot proceed cross-country.

247. The communes were among the most overpopulated in the country, with a population density of above 400 inhabitants per square kilometer. No part of their surface is unused. Most of it is under intensive use for agriculture. Pastures occupy a very small proportion, and are mostly an adjunct to farms, the rest is occupied by planted trees ("reboisements") and constitute the sole source of wood for cooking, construction and furniture.

248. Families live on their plot of land, so that there are practically no villages. Churches and school buildings often stand alone in the countryside. "Chef-lieux" of communes and zones, as well as marketplaces ("centres de négoce"), for the most part consist of a few houses, used as government offices or shops. People normally congregate only on market days or in church.

A. Geography and population

249. The Province of Gitega is adjacent on the north to the Province of Ngozi, on the west to the Provinces of Kayanza and Muramvya, on the south to the Provinces of Bururi and Rutana, and on the east to the Provinces of Karuzi and Ruyigi. It has a surface of around 1,989 square kilometers. Its capital, the city of Gitega, with around 15,000 inhabitants, is the country’s second largest city and has an important Army and Gendarmerie garrison. Two main asphalted roads reach Gitega, one from Bujumbura, 100 kilometers to the west, and another from Rutana on the south. Important unsurfaced roads lead from the city to Ngozi, Bururi, and Karuzi. The Province had a population of about 565,174 in 1990.

B. Claims and reports regarding events in the province

250. According to the FIDH report, the Governor learned of the coup around 2.30 a.m., on Thursday, 21 October, shortly after it had started. He telephoned the Governor of Muramvya twice. They agreed to block the main road. He then went around the province ordering all roads to be blocked. In the afternoon. he left for the Province of Karuzi, to the east, and was killed there together with the Governor of that province.

251. No serious acts of violence took place in the city of Gitega on Thursday, 21 October. On Friday, as reports arrived regarding the killing of Tutsis, groups of Tutsis began attacking Hutus and pillaging Hutu property. Some educated Hutus were killed by the soldiers. The soldiers shot at Hutus indiscriminately in the streets. Tutsi students killed Hutus in their schools and elsewhere, with the tolerance or complicity of the military.

252. The report describes massacres of Tutsis and indiscriminate repression of Hutus by the troops in eight of the ten communes of the province.

253. According to a report from FRODEBU, indiscriminate killing of Hutus by soldiers and Tutsi civilians took place in the provincial capital in the days following the coup.

C. Work of the Commission

254. After a first visit on 29 November 1995, field work was begun on 29 January 1996 by two Commissioners, working unassisted, until the end of February when one was assigned other work. From then on it was carried on by one, working unassisted until mid March, when two investigators began assisting in the field.

255. The Commission’s investigation in the Province of Gitega was hampered by the fact that, as has been reported above, the Commissioner in charge had to be shifted to other work and replaced by another Commissioner several times. For a period of two weeks in the month of April, work in the field had to be suspended because of serious troubles in the provincial capital and throughout the province.

256. The investigation was carried out in three communes: Bugendana, Giheta and Gitega. In the Commune of Gitega, however, due to the insufficiency of human resources, no field work could be carried out outside of the provincial capital, where witnesses were heard at four camps for displaced persons. In Bugendana, however, due to the security situation, the Commission could work in the field only after mid May, and even then its movements were restricted.

257. The Commission heard 145 witnesses, 119 Tutsis and 26 Hutus. Witnesses were heard on the collines, in religious centers, in seven camps for displaced persons, in the provincial capital, in the prison, and in Bujumbura.

D. Commune of Bugendana

a) Description of the commune

258. The Commune of Bugendana is adjacent on the north to the Commune of Mutaho, on the west to the Province of Muramvya, on the south to the Commune of Giheta, and on the west to the Province of Karuzi. It is crossed from south to north by the main unsurfaced road from the city of Gitega to Ngozi. Its Chef-lieu, Bugendana, on Colline Mukoro, is on the main road, 27 kilometers north of Gitega.

b) Claims and reports

259. According to the FIDH report, at the Chef-lieu Hutus started tying up Tutsis around 3 p.m. on Thursday, 21 October. They killed some men that day. On Friday and the following day, Tutsi men were hunted and killed in the surrounding areas. Tutsi homes were pillaged.

260. When the soldiers arrived, they killed some people and committed acts of pillage.

261. In the Parish of Mutoyi, 150 adult men were killed. 400 fleeing Tutsis who sought refuge in the church were not attacked. Hutus said they had been instructed to kill Tutsis by the authorities of the commune. Many Tutsis were saved by Hutu neighbors. The soldiers did not reach Mutoyi in that period.

262. According to a report from Tutsi sources, around 5 p.m., on Thursday, 21 October, a mob led by a local public employee attacked Tutsis around the Chef-lieu. At 7 p.m., massacres of Tutsis started and went on until the following Sunday.

c) Facts according to testimony
- Colline Mukoro
Chef-lieu

263. The Administrateur communal went around the different communes on a motorcycle during Thursday, 21 October. In the afternoon, a meeting of FRODEBU Hutus took place at the commune. The roads were blocked in the late afternoon and in the evening Hutus went out into the surrounding collines to gather Tutsi men and concentrate them in different points. No reliable testimony could be obtained regarding events at the Chef-lieu that evening.

264. The soldiers arrived on the following Monday. According to a Hutu witness, they killed many Hutus at the Chef-lieu and on the surrounding hills.

265. On the northern part of the colline, according to Tutsi witnesses, FRODEBU Hutus captured Tutsi men on Friday, 22 October, and gathered them in a house and then killed them.

- Colline Bitare

266. Colline Bitare is just to the south of the Chef-lieu. In its southern part, some six kilometers from the Chef-lieu, there is a "centre de négoce". According to Tutsi witnesses, Hutus blocked the roads in the afternoon of Thursday, 21 October. On Friday morning, they began to capture Tutsi men and gather them at different points to be killed. Some were killed beside the River Mubarazi. The hunt for Tutsi men went on until the arrival of the soldiers.

- Colline Mwurire

267. Colline Mwurire is about a kilometer from the Chef-lieu. It is large and with rugged terrain. According to Tutsi witnesses, Hutus led by local FRODEBU leaders cut the roads on the afternoon of Thursday, 21 October. In the evening, they captured Tutsi men and gathered them in several places. Some were killed that night, some the next morning. All through Friday, the hunt for Tutsi men went on. UPRONA Hutus were beaten, but not killed. In the following days, Tutsi women were also killed. On Monday, a group of Tutsi women and children were gathered at the church on the colline, then taken out and killed.

- Colline Rwingiri Kirimbi

268. On Colline Rwingiri, there is an educational and religious center on the main road at Kirimbi, some ten kilometers to the south of the Chef-lieu and seventeen to the north of the city of Gitega.

269. According to Tutsi witnesses, on the morning of Thursday, 21 October, the Administrateur communal arrived on a motorcycle and held a meeting at Kirimbi. Shortly after, led by local FRODEBU functionaries, Hutus cut the roads with felled trees. In the afternoon, they captured and tied up Tutsi men and youths from the surrounding collines and gathered them in Kirimbi. They locked them up in the hall of the school adjoining the church. One UPRONA Hutu was also captured.

270. Around 9 p.m., the Tutsis were taken out of the hall and killed. Some managed to escape in the dark. Several Tutsi witnesses testified that they had been saved by Hutus.

271. On Friday, the search for Tutsi males went on in the collines. Some were brought to Kirimbi and killed. Hutu witnesses confirmed that Tutsi men had been killed at Kibimbi on Thursday and Friday.

272. On Saturday 23 and the days following, Tutsi women and children who had not fled were killed.

273. The soldiers reached Kirimbi on Monday, and went on north toward the Chef-lieu. According to a Hutu witness, they killed many Hutus on that day and the following days.

- Collines Runyeri, Carire, Gitongo and Kibasi.

274. Collines Runyeri, Carire, Gitongo and Kibasi are in the eastern part of the commune. A secondary unsurfaced road crosses this part, going from the Chef-lieu to Kibimba in the Commune Giheta, to the southeast.

- Colline Runyeri

275. On Colline Runyeri, ten kilometers to the southwest of the Chef-lieu, according to Tutsi witnesses, Tutsi men were captured on Friday, 11 October, and gathered in a central place, where they were killed. The witnesses testified they had been saved by Hutus.

- Colline Gitongo

276. According to Tutsi witnesses, on Colline Gitongo, some fifteen kilometers to the southwest of the Chef-lieu, Hutus led by local FRODEBU leaders captured Tutsi males on Thursday, 21 October, held them on the road until evening, and then took them to the nearby River Kaniga to be killed. The following day they killed Tutsi women and children. Hutu witnesses confirmed that massacres of Tutsis had taken place on this colline and others, but denied having participated in them. Tutsi witnesses testified that they had been saved by Hutus.

- Colline Carire

277. According to Hutu witnesses, on Colline Carire, ten kilometers southwest of the Chef-lieu, Tutsi men were gathered on Thursday, 21 October, and held in a central place. In the evening, they were killed. Next day, Tutsi women and children were killed.

- Colline Kibasi

278. On Colline Kibasi, some twelve kilometers to the southeast of the Chef-lieu, according to Tutsi witnesses, the Administrateur communal of Bugendana arrived on a motorcycle on the morning of Thursday, 21 October, conferred with local FRODEBU leaders and left. Shortly after, the roads were blocked. Tutsi males were then captured, tied and put into a bus that had been stopped on the road. In the evening they were taken to the River Mubarazi and killed. Next day, Tutsi women and children were killed. Some witnesses testified that they had been saved by Hutus.

- Collines Gitora and Rushanga

279. Collines Gitora and Rushanga are in the southwestern part of the commune.

- Colline Gitora

280. On Colline Gitora, about 10 kilometers from the main road by secondary roads, there is an educational and religious center at Mugera. According to Tutsi testimony, Hutus led by a Hutu schoolteacher went to cut a bridge on the Ruvubu River, some six kilometers away, on Thursday, 21 October. According to Tutsi witnesses, Tutsis from the surrounding area took refuge at Mugera, under the protection of a priest, and were not harmed. In the collines around Mugera, according to Tutsi witnesses. Tutsi men were captured and killed by Hutus. On Saturday, an Army helicopter passed above Mugera, but did not land. The soldiers did not reach Gitora during the period under investigation.

- Colline Rushanga

281. Colline Rushanga is immediately to the east of Colline Gitora, some 13 kilometers from the main road. According to Tutsi witnesses, on Friday, 22 October, Hutus led by local leaders captured Tutsi men in Rushanga and killed them.

E. Commune of Giheta

a) Description of the commune

282. The Commune of Giheta is adjacent on the north to the Commune of Bugendana, on the west to the Province of Muramvya, on the south to the Commune of Gitega, and on the east to the Province of Karuzi. The main asphalted road from Bujumbura to Gitega crosses it from the southeast to the northwest for some twenty kilometers. A second main road, unsurfaced, crosses its eastern part from south to north, going from the city of Gitega to the city of Ngozi. It is divided into three zones, Kabanga, Giheta and Kiriba, situated in that order from west to east. The Chef-lieu is on Colline Giheta, about one kilometer from the main asphalted road and 12 kilometers from the provincial capital, without good road communication with most of the collines of the commune.

b) Claims and reports

283. According to the FIDH report, on Thursday, 21 October, Hutus led by FRODEBU leaders captured Tutsis and locked them in a depot at the Chef-lieu. They took some out in the evening and killed them. The rest barricaded themselves inside until the arrival of the soldiers. Other Tutsis were killed and thrown in ditches.

284. The soldiers arrived on the evening of the same day. On their arrival and during the following days, they hunted and killed many Hutus, and fired indiscriminately at the Hutu population in the surrounding collines.

285. That same Thursday, at Kibimba, Tutsi students captured by Hutus were locked in an unused gas station and burned to death.

286. The soldiers arrived at Kibimba early next morning. They massacred Hutus on the surrounded collines and pillaged the "centre de négoce".

287. Accounts from Tutsi sources generally coincide with the FIDH report regarding the massacres of Tutsis.

288. An account from FRODEBU admits that students were burned at Kibimba, and confirms the FIDH report regarding massacres of Hutus by the troops, adding that armored cars were used to shoot indiscriminately at the Hutu population.

c) Facts according to testimony

289. According to all witnesses, very early in the morning of Thursday, 21 October, the Governor of the province came along the main road from Gitega and gave orders to the local functionaries. The Administrateur communal, now in jail and being tried, testified that these instructions included felling trees to bar the roads, and that he discussed these instructions with the Chefs de Zone of Giheta and Kabanga.

- Colline Giheta
Chef-lieu

290. On the morning, while the roads were being blocked, a soldier who was on leave was captured and held, manacled, at the Chef-lieu.

291. According to testimony from Tutsi and Hutu witnesses, in the afternoon of Thursday, 21 October, Hutus led by the FRODEBU authorities captured Tutsi males from the collines near the main road and a nearby educational and religious center, as well as female Tutsi teachers and public employees, and gathered them at the Chef-lieu in the meeting hall. The Administrateur communal testified that this had been done for their protection.

292. Around 3 p.m., the Tutsis were transferred by groups, first the men and then the women, to a cinder block building with iron doors that served as a depot for fertilizer and seeds, about 80 meters downhill from the meeting hall. They were marched down between two rows of armed Hutus who reportedly beat them on the way. They were locked in. The building has no windows, only some barred ventilation openings near the roof. After that time, no more Tutsis were brought to the depot.

293. According to the testimony of a Tutsi survivor, those that were caught and brought to the Chef-lieu after that time were killed and thrown into ditches.

294. According Tutsi witnesses, around 9 p.m., a first group was called out of the depot by name. Two witnesses who claimed to have survived say that they were taken to the bridge on the River Ruvironza, some 8 kilometers from the Chef-lieu. The women in the group were raped, killed and thrown in the river. The men were killed and thrown in the river. One witness, a man, who had been only wounded, managed to survive after being thrown into the river. Another, a woman, claims she was helped to escape by a former Hutu pupil. A second group was called out about an hour later. A witness who claimed to have survived after being severely wounded (she lost a hand and is covered with scars) said that the others were killed near the road, about one kilometer from the Chef-lieu. A third group was called out an hour after the second. Some members of this group were killed within hearing of the people inside the depot. When these people realized that the groups were being called out to be killed, they barricaded the door with fertilizer sacks. Around 2 a.m., through the ventilation holes, they could see a searchlight on the main road some 500 meters downhill. They shouted to call attention. The soldiers arrived shortly thereafter and told them to remain barricaded until morning. On the morning, the military took them out. Some survivors were found among those thrown in the ditches. It is reported that some bodies are still in the ditches. The Administrateur communal stated that he was not present when the killings took place, having gone home to rest after leaving express instructions for the safety of the captives. Next morning he fled in the direction of Colline Kanyinya, along a secondary dirt road that goes to Bugendana.

295. According to Hutu witnesses, the military carried out indiscriminate repression against Hutus on the main road, around the Chef-lieu, and at the educational and religious center. On Friday and the following days, they fired on Hutus with submachine guns and with the machine gun of an armored car.

- Colline Kibimba

296. The "centre de négoce" at Bubu on Colline Kibimba, Zone Kabanga, consists of a group of shops on the main asphalted road near the provincial border with Muramvya, and is some twenty kilometers distant from the city of Gitega.

297. Early in the morning of Thursday, 21 October, Hutus led by FRODEBU functionaries barred all roads by cutting trees.

298. Around midday, according to Tutsi and Hutu witnesses, the Hutus started rounding up Tutsi men from the surrounding countryside and the Tutsi teachers of the high school in the nearby religious center, and locking them up in a service station under construction in a group of shops at Bubu, on the main road from Muramvya to Gitega. They later also locked up the Tutsi students.

299. In the evening, burning gasoline was thrown in through the windows and burning wood and straw was thrown in through the roof. Many of the occupants were burned to death. Some witnesses claimed to have survived inside the building, and to have been rescued on Friday morning. Others claim to have escaped during the night through a window. Some show scars of serious burns. There are many contradictions between the witnesses regarding details.

300. A FRODEBU Hutu who was at that time a functionary, admitted that Tutsis had been taken hostage at Kibimba, and that there had been massacres of Tutsis on all 14 collines of Zone Kabanda. He claimed he had gone around the zone on Thursday, trying to calm the population.

- Colline Muremera

301. On Colline Muremera, about ten kilometers from the main asphalted road, trees and bridges were cut to bar the roads on the morning of Thursday, 21 October. Tutsi witnesses from different parts of the colline stated that Hutus, led by local FRODEBU leaders, started to capture and kill Tutsis around 8 a.m. the next day. Two witnesses stated they were saved by Hutu neighbors.

- Colline Kiriba

302. Colline Kiriba is on the eastern extreme of the commune, some three kilometers east of the unsurfaced road that goes from the city of Gitega to Ngozi. On Friday, 22 October, Hutus from the colline, accompanied by others from other collines, captured the Tutsi men and killed them. A witness testified to having been saved by a Hutu neighbor.

- Colline Rubarasi

303. According to a Tutsi witness, on Colline Rubarasi, on the border with Commune Gitega, the roads were blocked on Thursday, 21 October. On the morning of the next day, Hutus from Rubarasi and other collines held a meeting, then proceeded to seek out Tutsi men and kill them. His two brothers were killed.

- Colline Gwingiri

304. On Colline Gwingiri, next to the unsurfaced main road from the city of Gitega to Ngozi, a Tutsi witness stated that FRODEBU Hutus attacked and killed the Tutsis on Thursday, 11 October. She was badly wounded. She was saved by a Hutu neighbor, who also saved other wounded Tutsi women.

- Colline Nyarunazi

305. Events on Colline Nyarunazi, a remote colline far from both main roads, present a welcome contrast. Only one Tusti, married to a Hutu and with Hutu blood relations himself, lived on the colline on Thursday, 21 October. No violence took place in Nyarunazi that day. On the following day, groups of Hutus from other collines arrived, looking for Tutsis to kill. The Hutus hid the resident Tutsi and his family, as well as other Tutsis who arrived fleeing from the killings in the adjoining Commune of Bugendana, at the risk of their own lives. Both the residents of the colline and a surviving Tutsi from Bugendana who owed his life to them, testified to this. On Friday, corpses were seen floating on the River Ruvironza, which runs along the south of the colline.

F. Commune of Gitega

a) Description of the commune

306. The Commune of Gitega, with the provincial capital at its center, is adjacent on the north to the Commune of Giheta, on the west to the Province of Muramvya, on the south to the Communes of Gishubi and Makebuko, and on the east to the Provinces of Karuzi and Ruyigi.

b) Facts according to testimony

307. Since, for the reason referred to above, apart from one Hutu prisoner, only Tutsi witnesses from displaced persons camps were heard by the Commission, testimony is completely one sided. In view of this, only a general summary is given below.

308. According to Tutsi witnesses, on the Collines Bukwazo, Mirama, Mukanda, Murirwe, Nyakibingo, Rubamvyi and Songa, all of which are in the eastern part of the commune, Hutus led by local FRODEBU leaders blocked all roads on Thursday, 21 October. The capture of Tutsi men is reported on some of these collines. In all collines Tutsi men, women and children were killed by Hutus. Some of these killings began on Thursday evening, most on Friday and, in some collines furthest from the provincial capital, only on Saturday. The killings went on in some places for several days. A Hutu witness testified that he had seen no Tutsis killed on Colline Rubamvi, which is next to the main asphalted road to Rutana, but that soldiers had arrived on the road in the evening of Thursday, 21 October, and had fired indiscriminately at Hutus, using even the machine gun of an armored car.