May 17 (UPI) — French authorities arrested suspected Rwandan war criminal Félicien Kabuga on Saturday after decades on the run, The Hague announced.
The prosecutor for the international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, said Kabuga was arrested in Asnières-sur-Seine, a northern suburb of Paris, living under a false name.
The U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted him in 1997 on several counts of genocide in relation to the slaughter of ethnic Tutsi in 1994. The genocide left an estimated 500,000 to 1 million people dead, about 70 percent of Rwanda’s Tutsi population.
“The arrest of Félicien Kabuga today is a reminder that those responsible for genocide can be brought to account, even 26 years after their crimes,” prosecutor Serge Brammertz said.
“Our first thoughts must be with the victims and survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Advocating on their behalf is an immense professional honor for my entire office.”
He said Kabuga is expected to be transferred to The Hague to stand trial.
