Grenade Attacks Shake Capital of Rwanda

By JOSH KRON
The New York Times
May 16, 2010

KAMPALA, Uganda — Nearly simultaneous grenade attacks in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, killed at least two people and wounded 32 on Saturday evening, the police said Sunday.

The grenades were thrown into crowds at a popular market and the city’s busiest bus station.

The attacks, which occurred within an hour, were the third set to rock Kigali since February. They came as political tension has risen ahead of a presidential election in August. The police said they were investigating.

While past grenade attacks have been aimed mainly at genocide survivors or genocide memorials and were often blamed on rebels, the recent ones have struck at commercial areas, creating a new level of tension in the capital. Kigali residents said Sunday that some roads had been closed and that there was an increased army presence there.

In March, President Paul Kagame blamed two senior army officers who fled Rwanda for being behind the attacks. Since then, two high-ranking generals have been arrested and others dismissed, and security forces have swept the country for arms and ammunition. Two newspapers that reported on a possible coup attempt were suspended.

In a recent phone interview, one general blamed for the attacks, Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, said that Mr. Kagame was using security forces to protect his hold on power. “The army, the police, the intelligence, these are personal institutions,” he said. “It cannot be like this forever.”

Note:
A version of this article appeared in print on May 17, 2010, on page A9 of the New York edition.