Police nab top suspect over Rwandan genocide
A LEADING suspect wanted for orchestrating the killings of more than 500,000 people in Rwanda's 1994 genocide -- including children, hospital patients, priests and an elderly and revered African queen -- has been captured.
Idelphonse Nizeyimana, the former Rwanda deputy intelligence chief, was arrested in Uganda under an indictment from the Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal.
Police, who swooped on Nizeyimana on Monday and made a formal announcement of his arrest on Tuesday, said he faced charges of genocide, complicity in genocide and direct and public incitement to commit genocide in the systematic slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus over 100 days in 1994.
Until last week, Nizeyimana was believed to be hiding in the jungles of eastern Congo, where he belongs to a militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, that continues to commit atrocities.
The United States had offered a US$5 million reward for the capture of Nizeyimana.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Nizeyimana's arrest and called on all countries to continue to cooperate fully with the Rwanda tribunal, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
Gregory Alex, who heads a UN team responsible for demobilizing rebels in Congo and repatriating them to Rwanda, said the capture of Nizeyimana was a major coup.
"He is known for having spoken openly of the 'work' he conducted during the genocide," Alex said.
Nizeyimana, 46, has been flown to Arusha, Tanzania, for trial at the UN-established International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Tribunal spokesman Ronald Amoussouga said the arrest of the former army captain and member of the president's inner circle "is quite a significant development not only for the tribunal, but also for the quest for justice as a whole."
Interpol's deputy director in Uganda, Ally Womanga, said Nizeyimana did not resist and "was caught like a grasshopper."
During the genocide, Nizeyimana was alleged to have formed secret units of soldiers that executed prominent Tutsis, including Queen Rosalie Gicanda, who was in her 80s.
Idelphonse Nizeyimana, the former Rwanda deputy intelligence chief, was arrested in Uganda under an indictment from the Rwanda War Crimes Tribunal.
Police, who swooped on Nizeyimana on Monday and made a formal announcement of his arrest on Tuesday, said he faced charges of genocide, complicity in genocide and direct and public incitement to commit genocide in the systematic slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus over 100 days in 1994.
Until last week, Nizeyimana was believed to be hiding in the jungles of eastern Congo, where he belongs to a militia called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, that continues to commit atrocities.
The United States had offered a US$5 million reward for the capture of Nizeyimana.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Nizeyimana's arrest and called on all countries to continue to cooperate fully with the Rwanda tribunal, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
Gregory Alex, who heads a UN team responsible for demobilizing rebels in Congo and repatriating them to Rwanda, said the capture of Nizeyimana was a major coup.
"He is known for having spoken openly of the 'work' he conducted during the genocide," Alex said.
Nizeyimana, 46, has been flown to Arusha, Tanzania, for trial at the UN-established International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Tribunal spokesman Ronald Amoussouga said the arrest of the former army captain and member of the president's inner circle "is quite a significant development not only for the tribunal, but also for the quest for justice as a whole."
Interpol's deputy director in Uganda, Ally Womanga, said Nizeyimana did not resist and "was caught like a grasshopper."
During the genocide, Nizeyimana was alleged to have formed secret units of soldiers that executed prominent Tutsis, including Queen Rosalie Gicanda, who was in her 80s.
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