European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page a 4 the stars and stripes crisis in Rwanda saturday july 30, 1994 opening Airport would Aid Effort general says by Cindy Killion Washington Bureau Washington a expanding Airport operations is essential to increasing the Tempo of efforts to Aid rwandan refugees the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said Friday at the White House. A from a humanitarian Point of View opening Kigali makes sense a army Gen. John a Shalikashvil said of the Airport at Rwanda a capital a we could More than double the number of flights going into the  he said Goma Zaire the largest refugee Camp is Only about 60 Miles from Kigali. In addition he said having a Relief operation in Rwanda will encourage More refugees to return Home. A but. We will not move into Rwanda unless it makes sense from Security and logistics views too a he said. Another assessment team is in Kigali and will probably make its recommendations this weekend he added. Shalikashvil  confirm rumours that the sending of . Military personnel to open the Airfield at Kigali is imminent. Nor would he answer reporters1 questions on How Many personnel will be needed if the Kigali Airfield is opened. The general said that if troops go into Rwanda a Mission creep wont be a problem. A Kigali Airfield operations will be strictly for humanitarian reasons a he said. That a not to say Security Isnit a concern. A you can to be involved in any operation without the risk of someone taking a Potshot at you a the general said. A we face that risk in Goma  but he emphasized that any peacekeeping operations will be done solely by . Forces. A .-supported infantry battalion from the Western african country of Ghana has recently arrived in Rwanda and is conducting Security patrols with forces of the new rwandan government Shalikashvil said. Such forces will be the ones to quell any renewed fighting or riots that might break out As More rwandan huts return Home after fleeting civil War in their country. Estimates from Aid workers on the ground say 60,000 refugees have either returned to Rwanda or started the trek Home. But the same cholera that would be returnees Are fleeing in the refugee Camps might actually keep them out of Rwanda. Cable news network reported Friday morning that doctors working with Relief organizations in Goma and other Camps said their organizations will no longer return people to Rwanda who show sighs of the disease. The report said the new rwandan government does no to want cholera coming into the country. Doctors agree that keeping the obviously sick people at the Camps is the Best Way to Stop the diseases spread. Refugees will be allowed to walk across the Border since the incubation period of the disease is three Days and it takes about that Long to walk from the refugee Camps to the areas where the huts lived. With that in mind Shalikashvil said equipment is arriving in the Region that will provide More water transportation capabilities. Also arriving is heavy engineering equipment to dig mass Graves and build latrines a pre positioned ship a loaded with engineering and water purification and hauling equipment a should arrive at Mombasa Kenya from its position near the Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia this weekend he said. A at that Point the equipment that can be flown aboard c-130 or Sling loaded on cargo helicopters will be sent to Goma Quot he said. A the heavy equipment will form a massive Convoy and go Overland to arrive at Goma a few Days  army planners said they expect the equipment to be unloaded and ready for transport monday. About the foot dragging that Aid workers on the ground perceive of the military a humanitarian Effort Senalik Shvili said a it would be strange if they did no to feel frustrated. They Are there Sec ing the overwhelming need every hour of every a Day. A but the reality is that at this Point the priority needs of the refugees far exceed our ability a he said. A but All Day every Day our ability is  purification system 1. Water enters Strainer directly from the Lake pulled in by a powerful intake pump. 2. H is forced through a Complex series of membranes and filters which remove increasingly smaller pieces of solid material. 3. The clean water is pumped into water tanks for storage and local distribution. 4. The water is pumped into Tanker trucks for transportation and distribution. = source Keco industries Usa tank automotive cd. A we. J. Costello water set to go but still not flowing efficiently by Joseph Owen. Heidelberg Bureau. Stuttgart Germany now a week into operation support Hope . Troops in Goma Zaire have set up enough equipment to produce 167,000 Gallons of clean water daily. But the americans still done to have an efficient Way to get much of the water to More than a million rwandan refugees in the area according to . European come Headquarters the troops have completed a three mile pipeline to carry clean water from the purification site to the Center of Goma according to Navy capt. Gordon Peterson a command spokesman. The . Task Force also is awaiting de livery of 10 5,000-gallon hard Shell Tanker trucks to move water to the people who need it Peterson said. Six of the trucks Are being flown to the crisis zone. The. Task Force needs both to reduce the level of dehydration among refugees and Stem the spread of water borne cholera bacteria. The Border Region around Goma still is littered with the unburied corpses of thousands of refugees who died of starvation dehydration or disease in recent weeks. Remaining in the open the corpses Foster the spread of other diseases that threaten the surviving refugees. The United nations has asked for heavy equipment to dig mass Graves As Well As to carry out Road repairs and site preparation. A total of 11 c-141 Star lifter and c-5 Galaxy cargo planes landed in the area thursday Peterson said. Three More c-5s were scheduled to arrive in Goma on Friday carrying additional tactical Airlift control personnel who will enable the forces there to conduct 24-hour Airfield operations Peterson said. The planes also Are carrying forklifts a Bulldozer and 30 engineering soldiers a Lead element of the 94th engr in in Vul Seck. More of the battalions soldiers Are expected to follow. A a we re working hard to expand the Overall operational capability of airfields in the Region not just at Goma so that we can sustain an air Bridge 24 hours around the clock seven Days a week a Peterson said. . Defense Secretary William Perry and army Gen. George a. Joulwan commander of the . European come plan to travel sunday to the Airport at Entebbe Uganda where nearly 500 . Troops Are working on the Relief Effort Peterson said. They also expect to visit Goma on the same Day. A a Canada the czech Republic France Germany and several neighbouring african nations also Are involved in assisting the refugees but not under a coordinated . Effort said army maj Mary Nosco spokeswoman for the joint task Force Headquarters at Kelley Barracks in Stutt  Page 1 pealed to private citizens to donate to Relief agencies a this Relief Effort is the most difficult and Complex the world has faced in decades a he said. Clinton said . Efforts have resulted in daily deliveries of 100,000 Gallons of clean water to help combat the cholera plague that is sweeping the Goma refugee Camp at the Zaire Border where 1.2 million refugees have gathered. Refugees have been dying at a rate of about 1,800 a Day. Quot a asked about prospects for an expanding role of the . Military in the crisis in which Clinton has assigned the Pentagon to assist Only with the humanitarian Effort he replied a Mission creep is not a problem  defense Secretary William Perry is travelling to Rwanda this weekend along with assistant Secretary of state George Moose to discuss the refugee crisis with the new leadership of Rwanda. Rebel forces recently ousted a military dominated regime that urged ethnic Slaughter. Clinton said the Only solution to the humanitarian tragedy is the Safe return Home of rwandans who fled the ethnic warfare. Clinton announced july 22 a $100 million military operation with a round the clock Airlift of supplies and Medicine for refugees of what he called a the worlds worst humanitarian crisis in a  his additional request came As France began pulling its 2,500 troops out of Rwanda As scheduled Friday despite . And american appeals to slay. France said it was pulling its soldiers because its mandate expires aug. 22, and . Troops from Senegal and Chad were to take Over for them. French troops were deployed two months ago under a . Mandate to halt massacres that killed Between 350,000 and 500,000 civilians and to guarantee that Aid shipments get through. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. John m. Shalikashvil said that in addition to using Entebbe Uganda As a staging ground for Aid distribution the administration is close to deciding whether to use the Kigali Airport to help with the Effort. Asked whether . Troops might come under fire in the regions volatile climate of persistent ethnic rivalry Shalikashvil said a you cannot be engaged in operations without the danger that someone will take a Potshot at you.�?�. However he said there was no intention of changing the humanitarian nature of the Mission. He said that the . Task is to open As Many airfields As possible to support the humanitarian Effort and help people return Home