Rwandan prosecutor general on Wednesday said the government has launched an inquiry into the possible role of at least 20 French military and civil officials in the 1994 genocide in the East African nation.
The move follows the release of a document in October which accused French officials of having a role in the genocide.
The probe was re-opened to allow examination of evidence from a former general, now living in exile in South Africa, who has claimed that Rwandan President Paul Kagame was involved.
According to Rwanda’s Prosecutor General Richard Muhumuza, “the enquiry so far is focused on 20 individuals and according to the information we gathered so far, our office requires some information or clarifications from these individuals on the allegations against them for their role in the genocide.”
Muhumuza said the relevant French authorities had been contacted and that full cooperation was expected.
The dispute centres on France’s role prior to the genocide as a close ally of the Hutu nationalist regime of Juvenal Habyarimana. The shooting down of his plane over Kigali on April 6, 1994 was the event that triggered 100 days of meticulously planned slaughter.
About 800,000 mostly ethnic minority Tutsis and moderates from the Hutu majority population were killed.