Rwandan Governor Assassinated

The governor of Rwanda’s southern province of Butare was assassinated in an ambush, the prime minister said Sunday. He blamed soldiers of the defeated Hutu-led government living in neighboring Zaire.

Pierre-Claver Rwangabo was shot Saturday night near the town of Butare, the provincial capital near the border with Burundi, Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu said by telephone from Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.

Rwangabo’s son and driver also were killed, Rwandan radio reported.

The prime minister said the killing of Rwangabo, a moderate Hutu, is believed to have been carried out by soldiers of the defeated Hutu-led government who have sought refuge in Zaire. An estimated 30,000 former soldiers and 10,000 allied militiamen are among some 1 million Rwandan refugees in the camps.

But a U.S. human rights group official said extremist Tutsis were more likely suspects. They had accused the governor of being too soft on Hutus accused in the massacres of a estimated 500,000 people, mostly Tutsis, from April to June last year.