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Rwandan leader 'should be tried' Rwandan leader 'should be tried'
(about 6 hours later)
A French judge says Rwandan President Paul Kagame should stand trial over the killing of a former Rwandan leader, an act that led to genocide. Rwandan President Paul Kagame should stand trial over the killing of a former Rwandan leader, an act that led to genocide, a French judge has said.
Jean-Louis Bruguiere, who is investigating the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, also said nine of Mr Kagame's aides should be arrested.Jean-Louis Bruguiere, who is investigating the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, also said nine of Mr Kagame's aides should be arrested.
Habyarimana's plane was shot down in 1994, igniting fighting in which some 800,000 people were killed. Habyarimana's plane was shot down in 1994, sparking massacres in which some 800,000 people were killed.
An international criminal court is trying suspects in the killings. Rwanda's justice minister has dismissed the claims, AFP reports.
French legal authorities are investigating the case because the aircraft had a French crew. "The allegations are totally unfounded. The judge is acting on the basis of gossip and rumours," AFP news agency quoted Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama as saying.
President Kagame has always vehemently denied such claims and accuses France, a close ally of the old Hutu regime, of being complicit in the genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
A hearing began in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, last month into allegations of French involvement in the killings.
French legal authorities are investigating Habyarimana's death because his aircraft had a French crew.
RampageRampage
Judge Bruguiere is expected to sign international arrest warrants for the officials in the coming days, the Associated Press news agency reported.Judge Bruguiere is expected to sign international arrest warrants for the officials in the coming days, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Under French law, a warrant cannot be issued for Mr Kagame because he has immunity as a head of state, AP said.Under French law, a warrant cannot be issued for Mr Kagame because he has immunity as a head of state, AP said.
Some 800,000 people were killed in the genocide Mr Kagame has immunity under French law
BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane says if the judge's claims prove true it would mean that Paul Kagame not only murdered a head of state, but provided the spark that started Rwanda burning. But the judge said Mr Kagame should stand trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), set up to try those responsible for the genocide.
The legal, but also moral, implications would be devastating, our correspondent adds. BBC correspondent Fergal Keane says if the judge's claims prove true, the legal and moral, implications would be devastating.
President Kagame has denied such claims in the past and accuses France, a close ally of the old Hutu regime, of being complicit in the genocide. Rwanda's two most senior generals - armed forces chief James Kabarebe and army chief-of-staff Charles Kayonga - are among the nine aides suspected of involvement in the downing of the plane carrying Habyarimana and his Burundi counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira.
Rwanda's two most senior generals - armed forces chief James Kabarebe and army chief-of-staff Charles Kayonga - are among the nine aides suspected of involvement in the downing of Habyarimana's plane. Hutu militias accused Mr Kagame's then rebel Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) of killing the president and started massacring Tutsis across the country.
Some 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed when Hutu extremists went on the rampage following Habyarimana's death. Mr Kagame has always accused Hutu extremists of killing Habyarimana, a moderate Hutu, in order to provide a pretext for the genocide.
The genocide ended 100 days later when the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a Tutsi-dominated group, defeated the Hutu regime. The killings ended 100 days later when the RPF took power.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania has tried 31 suspects since it began in 1997. The ICTR has convicted 26 people and acquitted five. All of those charged in the ICTR have had links to the Hutu militias, known as the Interahamwe.
Twenty-six people have been convicted and five acquitted. The Tanzania-based court is due to be disbanded in 2008.
The court is due to be disbanded in 2008.