The sports category has moved to a new website.
ADVERTISEMENT

Rwanda accuses 22 French officers over 1994 genocide

Rwanda has published a list of 22 French officers it accuses of helping plan and execute the 1994 genocide, in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries.

More than 800,000 people were killed in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

Rwanda's National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (known by its French acronym CNLG) issued the list on Monday, a month after French investigators said they were re-opening a probe into who shot down then-president Juvenal Habyarimana's jet triggering the genocide in which 800,000 mostly Tutsi people were killed.

"High-ranking French officers and political figures committed very serious crimes in Rwanda," the CNLG said in a statement.

"The refusal to put an end to the judicial investigation and to exonerate Rwandan leaders who ended the genocide is designed to camouflage these responsibilities."

A Rwandan enquiry found ethnic Hutu extremists responsible for Habyarimana's assassination, but the French investigation was inconclusive.

ADVERTISEMENT

That enquiry was reopened following a deposition submitted by former Rwandan army chief Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a one-time confidant of President Paul Kagame who has again pointed the finger of blame at Kagame.

The shooting down of the plane falls within French jurisdiction because the crew were French.

Last month Kagame warned of a "showdown" with France over the allegations. The row over responsibility for shooting down the plane has wrecked diplomatic relations in the past, causing a severing of ties between 2006 and 2009.

The CNLG accused the 22 senior French officers of involvement in the genocide "both as perpetrators and accomplices".

Among those accused are the former army head, a chief of staff to former President Francois Mitterrand and the French commander of the UN-mandated Operation Turquoise which intervened in Rwanda two months after the start of the genocide.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: news@pulselive.co.ke

Recommended articles

Meteorological  Department issues alert for WRC Safari Rally fans & drivers

Meteorological Department issues alert for WRC Safari Rally fans & drivers

Marianne Kitany tactfully speaks on whether Ruto should fire her ex, CS Linturi

Marianne Kitany tactfully speaks on whether Ruto should fire her ex, CS Linturi

Gov't & opposition officials clash at Rita Tinina's burial ceremony

Gov't & opposition officials clash at Rita Tinina's burial ceremony

CS Murkomen unveils new number plates for cars that will get preferential treatment

CS Murkomen unveils new number plates for cars that will get preferential treatment

Moi University students escape through windows after road crash

Moi University students escape through windows after road crash

57,000 civil servants to have their rent reviewed upwards

57,000 civil servants to have their rent reviewed upwards

Interesting story of U.S. Army Specialist Wambui who comes from a military family

Interesting story of U.S. Army Specialist Wambui who comes from a military family

Heroic GSU officer dies after jumping out of a taxi along Thika Super Highway

Heroic GSU officer dies after jumping out of a taxi along Thika Super Highway

DJ Joe Mfalme detained for 14 more days

DJ Joe Mfalme detained for 14 more days

ADVERTISEMENT