About 800,000
people, mostly Tutsis, died at the hands of Hutu extremists during the Rwandan
genocide.
It is the
second case of its kind to be brought in France, after Rwandan army captain
Pascal Simbikangwa was jailed for 25 years over the mass killings.
The French
court has sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for their part
in the 1994 genocide.
Tito
Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were found guilty of crimes against
humanity and genocide.
They were
accused of playing leading roles in the massacre of 2,000 ethnic Tutsis who
sought refuge in a church in the town of Kabarondo.
Attacks on
Tutsis in Kabarondo began soon after Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was
killed in a rocket attack on his plane, the trigger for the violence.
Survivors of
the church massacre testified at the two men's trial. Marie Mukamunana said she
lost seven children and her husband, killed by machetes and grenades.
"Someone
said 'don't waste the bullets' and they continued with machetes," she
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment