British agencies launch Rwanda appeal

Britain's leading aid agencies launched an appeal yesterday to help of Rwandan refugees. 'We rarely use the word genocide but there isn't any other word to describe what is happening in Rwanda today,' John Whitaker, deputy director of Oxfam, told a news conference, Reuter reports.

The appeal by Oxfam and six other aid agencies was launched by the actress Helen Mirren. 'By giving a little we can show our identification with our brothers and sisters, our common humanity over there in Rwanda,' she said.