Kagame To Resign From Army

A Rwandan paper, The Rwandan Herald, has said Rwanda President Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame quits the army soon, Emmy Allio reports. The bi-monthly, quoting unnamed sources, said Kagame hoped to leave the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the army he helped to mould and develop, as part of a demobilisation programme. There was no independent confirmation of the reports by the government. However, the paper said officers to retire include RPA's first chief of staff Brig. Gen. Sam Karenzi Kanyemera. The RPA demobilisation programme, being dictated by donors, began in 1998. The paper also said 50 former Rwandan government soldiers (ex-FAR), now fighting for the DR Congo government, had surrendered to RPA. It said the surrender followed that of Maj. Frederick Itangayenda Sagasaga alias Ninja last month. Ends