Audio By Carbonatix
The remains of Augustin Bizimana, one of the most wanted suspects of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, have been found, a UN war crimes prosecutor says.
They were discovered in a grave in Congo-Brazzaville. DNA tests confirmed his identity and that he had been dead for 20 years.
He was defence minister when about 800,000 people were killed in 100 days.
Bizimana was indicted in 1998 by a UN tribunal on 13 charges, including genocide, murder, rape and torture.
The announcement of his death follows the arrest in Paris last weekend of Félicien Kabuga, who is accused of being the major financier of the killers during the genocide.
They were ethnic Hutu extremists targeting members of the minority Tutsi community and their political opponents, irrespective of their ethnic origin.
The search is still on for six other Rwandans accused of genocide, Serge Brammertz, the UN war crimes prosecutor, said in a statement.
Of the six, the most wanted is Protais Mpiranya, a former commander of the presidential guard. Like Kabuga and Bizimana, he is regarded as a "major fugitive".
Ex-PM and peacekeeper murders
Mr Brammertz is chief prosecutor of International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) at The Hague, which handles outstanding war crimes cases for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
"Bizimana was alleged to be responsible for the murders of former Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian United Nations peacekeepers, and for the murder of Tutsi civilians" in five Rwandan regions, he said.
6 April 1994President Habyarimana, a Hutu, killed in plane explosion
Over 100 daysHutu extremists kill some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus
4 July 1994Tutsi-led RPF rebels capture the capital Kigali
Two millionHutus flee to Zaire, now DR Congo, fearing revenge attacks
93ringleaders indicted by a UN tribunal
12,000community courts try more than 1.2 million suspects
Source: BBC/UN
The confirmation of Bizimana's death was the result of an exhaustive investigation into human remains from a gravesite found in Pointe-Noire in Congo, he said.
As well as DNA analysis over several months, the investigators had verified additional evidence concerning the circumstances of Bizimana's death in August 2000, the prosecutor said.
However, Mr Brammertz's statement gave no further details about how the former defence minister had died, when he would have been aged around 46.
Dozens of people were convicted for their role in the killings by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), set up after the genocide, and hundreds of thousands more faced trial in community courts in Rwanda.
Latest Stories
-
Either defer new royalty regime or abolish Growth and Sustainability Levy – Chamber of Mines to government
19 minutes -
The Suit is a shroud ; the fugu is our resurrection
30 minutes -
NDC appoints Inusah Fuseini as Ayariga steps down from Ayawaso East primary probe committee
44 minutes -
T-bills auction: Government exceeds target by 246%; interest rates fall sharply to 9.9%
49 minutes -
Lands Minister arrives in South Africa for annual African mining investment conference
60 minutes -
Frank Quaye Writes: Nullify Ayawaso East primary to protect NDC’s integrity and goodwill
1 hour -
Medeama survive Samartex test to reach FA Cup last eight
1 hour -
Vote- buying, party reform, and the unfinished business of internal democracy in the NDC
1 hour -
Mahama Ayariga withdraws from NDC Ayawaso East probe as Majority Caucus demands cancellation of primary
2 hours -
Majority caucus calls for cancellation of Ayawaso East primary over vote-buying allegations
2 hours -
Jachie-Pramso SHS appeals for support as headmaster hails discipline
2 hours -
NDC committee given February 10 deadline to submit Ayawaso East vote-buying report
4 hours -
Abossey Okai spare parts dealers threaten one-week strike over new VAT regime
4 hours -
Sentencing is not a lottery -Lawyer defends Agradaa’s sentence reduction
4 hours -
Ghanaian highlife maestro Ebo Taylor dies at 90
4 hours