Jackson Advocate

Huge Watusi Tribesmen In Africa Flee From Their Smaller Former Slaves Martial Law Declared To Halt Attacks Of Bahutus Tribes

Kigali, Ruanda-Urundi, Nov. 13 - Hundreds of huge Watusi tribesmen were fleeing today from the all-out attack of their former slaves the smaller but more numerous Bahutus in this Belgian trust territory.

Belgian forces said some Watusis had taken refuge with their wives and children in towns and Roman Catholic missions, and that others had crossed into Uganda, a British trust territory to the north.

Fearing a famine because of their burned-out huts, the Belgian commander had thousands of leaflets scattered, calling on them to remain at work in the fields. Ruanda, scene of most of the trouble, has had famines because the poor land is over populated.

Martial Law Enforced

Ruanda has been placed under military control, but there was little that the 1,500 exhausted troops flown in from the Belgian Congo and the two companies of Belgian (Continued on Page Four)
Huge Watusi .
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paratroopers could do to check the bands of Bahutus.
The Bahutus roamed the hills, setting fire to Watusi huts, slashing their cattle, chopping down banana trees and coffee plants and then disappearing into the forests.
Many elderly persons have been left in the huts to burn.
Hundreds of huts and villages have been burned and many acres of plantations damaged. About 600 Africans have been arrested on charges of arson in the last three days.
Fatalities total more than 200. No major clashes have been reported since troops intervened three days ago, but authorities feared the proud Watusis would go on the warpath in revenge the moment troops were withdrawn.
Watusis Seek Independence
Belgium governs the United Nations trust territory through the kings and chiefs of the Watusis, who have dominated the Bahutus for centuries. Belgian influence has gradually ended slavery.
In the twin trust territories of Ruanda-Urundi about 4,000,000 of the 4,600,000 population are Bahutus.
The same fires of nationalism and independence that have stirred riots at Leopoldville and Stanleyville in the neighboring Belgian Congo are behind the tribal troubles in Ruanda.
Some Watusis, calling themselves Ruanda National Union, have been holding political rallies and demanding immediate independence.