asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the dates, times and purposes of flights by Royal Air Force aircraft over eastern Zaire in November and December 1996; and whether they will publish the photographs taken during those missions and the reports made on the findings. [HL144]
In November 1996, a Canberra PR9 photo-reconnaissance aircraft was sent to Entebbe to assist the humanitarian efforts being made in the Rwanda conflict. The flights over Zaire were part of this support. Details of the dates, times and remarks on the flights made by the Canberra PR9 from Entebbe are provided in the table below. They are taken from the operational record book of No. 39 Sqn RAF.
Date Local time up Local time down Purpose and sortie comments 23 Nov 0515 0750 No refugees seen in Biluma, Katale, Rumango and Rugari. 1015 1230 2,000 to 3,000 refugees in vicinity of Medaka. Mudaka to Karago and Hombo to Bunyakiri roads covered. 26 Nov 0505 0740 1,000 to 2,000 refugees travelling south on road between Kashewe and Mingasi. Four other areas cleared. 0945 1205 Road from south of Walikale to Makote cleared. 27 Nov 0515 0805 Main road from Goma to Sake containing approx 3,000 refugees probably moving towards Sake refugee camp at Minova. 28 Nov 0515 0720 Minova refugee camp still occupied. 5,000 to 10,000 travelling north-west on road in river valley west of Lake Kivu. 0950 1210 Shabunda and Walikale areas. 2,000 to 3,000 refugees on road moving towards Walikale. Checkpoint noted on road. 30 Nov 0525 0755 Three roads flown and cleared; no refugee activity seen. 1 Dec 0525 0735 Goma to Sake road cleared. Small number of people on road side near Lake Kivu. 2 Dec 0510 0740 The Lowa river valley area. Large number of refugees camped along the road in the valley. Total 150K+. Minova camp now unoccupied. 3 Dec 0500 0635 Volcano only. 4 Dec 0505 0805 Goma airfield. Nzibi area flown as a mini-survey. No refugees were located. 5 Dec 0500 0710 Due to cloud targets not covered. An area search (TGT [Target] of opportunity) found no refugee activity. 0925 1105 Colour [photography?] of refugees in Lowa valley. 6 Dec 0630 0920 Lowa river valley. Refugees still present; however, new camps have been established and some of the older camps have been abandoned. General direction of drift is away from Rwanda. 8 Dec 0455 0705 No photography. 9 Dec 0630 0920 Road from Walikale to Lubutu. Small camp largely abandoned on side of road approx—500 occupants 2mm (sic) SE Lubutu. 10 Dec 0455 0710 PFO of volcano eruption. 11 Dec 0450 0750 Goma to Sake road cleared. Refugee camp 1,500 to 2,000 occupants in vicinity of Kingulubu. This camp has been in existence for several weeks but is probably getting larger. 12 Dec 0950 1250 Total camera failure. Crew report nil refugees seen along route Lubutu to Shabunda. 13 Dec 0435 0750 Roads from Lubutu to Kindu and around Shabunda cleared. No refugees were seen.
The MoD released Canberra PR9 imagery to the media illustrating a small group of probable refugees in an area to the north-west of Lake Kivu, which appeared in the Times on 3 December 1996.
There are currently no plans to publish any further reports or photographs taken during these missions.