Request for Protection of Informant - Key Points and Summary

Request for Protection of Informant

Summary

This document is a fax from Dallaire/UNAMIR/Kigali to Baril/DPKO/UNATIONS New York, dated January 11, 1994, requesting protection for an informant.

Key Points

• Informant's Background:
  • The informant is a top-level trainer in the Interhamwe, the armed militia of the MRND party.
  • He was involved in planning demonstrations targeting opposition party deputies and Belgian soldiers.
• Planned Provocation:
  • The aim was to provoke the RPF BN (Rwandan Patriotic Front Battalion) into engaging demonstrators to incite civil war.
  • Deputies were to be assassinated at Parliament.
  • Belgian troops were to be provoked, and if they used force, some were to be killed to force Belgium to withdraw from Rwanda.
• Involvement:
  • 48 RGF (Rwandan Government Forces) PARA CDO and some members of the gendarmerie participated in the demonstrations in plain clothes.
  • At least one Minister of the MRND and the sous-prefect of Kigali were involved.
  • RGF and Interhamwe had radio communications.
• Informant's Role and Payment:
  • The informant is a former security member of the president.
  • He is paid RF150,000 per month by the MRND to train Interhamwe.
  • There is a direct link to the chief of staff of the RGF and the president of the MRND for financial and material support.
  • RF150,000 Rwandan Francs
• Training and Deployment:
  • Interhamwe has trained 1700 men in RGF military camps outside Kigali.
  • These men are scattered in groups of 40 throughout Kigali.
  • Since UNAMIR's deployment, he has trained 300 personnel in three-week sessions at RGF camps, focusing on discipline, weapons, explosives, close combat, and tactics.
• Objectives and Extermination Plans:
  • The Interhamwe's initial aim was to protect Kigali from the RPF.
  • Since the UNAMIR mandate, the informant has been ordered to register all Tutsi in Kigali, suspectedly for extermination.
  • The informant claims his personnel could kill up to 1000 Tutsis in 20 minutes.
• Informant's Change of Heart:
  • The informant disagrees with the anti-Tutsi extermination plan.
  • He supports opposition to the RPF but not the killing of innocent people.
  • He believes the president may not have full control over all elements of his party/faction.
• Weapons Cache:
  • The informant is willing to provide the location of a major weapons cache with at least 135 weapons.
  • He has already distributed 110 weapons, including 35 with ammunition, and can provide their locations.
  • The weapons are G3 and AK47 rifles provided by the RGF.
  • Type of weapons are G3 and AK47 provided by RGF.
• Conditions for Cooperation:
  • The informant requests protection for himself, his wife, and four children.
• Planned Actions and Timing:
  • Action is planned within the next 36 hours, possibly by Wednesday at dawn.
  • The informant believes hostilities may resume if the political deadlock continues.
  • Violence could occur on the day of ceremonies or the day after.
• Recommendations and Concerns:
  • It is recommended that the informant be granted protection and evacuated from Rwanda.
  • The HQ lacks experience in such matters and urgently requests guidance.
  • No contact has been made with any embassy to inquire about diplomatic immunity.
  • The Force Commander will meet with the "very very important political person" to ensure awareness of the informant's involvement.
  • There are reservations about the informant's sudden change of heart, and the possibility of a trap is not fully excluded.
  • The Force Commander will inform the SRSG (Special Representative of the Secretary-General) to ensure support.
• Closing Statement:
  • "Peux Ce Que Veux. Allons-y." (Where there's a will, there's a way. Let's go.)