France facing genocide claims
2008-08-05 20:04
Kigali - France played an active role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, a report unveiled on Tuesday by the Rwandan government said, naming French political and military officials it says should be prosecuted.
"French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis... French forces committed several rapes on Tutsi survivors," said a justice ministry statement released after the report was presented in Kigali.
The 500-page report alleged that France was aware of preparations for the genocide, contributed to planning the massacres and actively took part in the killing.
The 1994 genocide in the central African nation left around 800 000 people - mainly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus - dead, according to the United Nations.
- AFP