The Dutch contribution to the operations in the Great Lakes region, Central Africa (1993-1994)
The Netherlands provided UNOMIR with 10 army personnel, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel B.J.C.M. van Rijckevorsel. After UNOMUR was absorbed into UNAMIR, Van Rijckevorsel was appointed as UNOMUR’s deputy chief military observer in Kabale. Captain W.J.P. de Kant was the ADC in Kigali for the Canadian UNAMIR commander, Brigadier General R.A. Dallaire.
The highly charged situation led most western nations to evacuate their citizens from Rwanda in April 1994. The Netherlands helped with this evacuation by providing, at Belgium's request, a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft with 7 crew members for what became known as Operation Silverback.
Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of Defence sent a detachment to the neighbouring country of Zaïre to alleviate the worst of the suffering among the Rwandan refugees. The Netherlands Detachment Provide Care (NLDetPC) consisted of:
- a medical team with personnel from the Royal Netherlands Navy;
- the Royal NL Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force;
- a similarly ‘purple’ (i.e. interservice) transport unit,
- as well as a movement control unit,
- a Royal Netherlands Army water transport unit and a group of marines to guard the relief supplies.
The NLDetPC was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A.N. van de Graaf.