Tuesday, October 24, 2006

France denies ..., Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel is running an interesting story ... asking Did French troops facilitate the 1994 slaughter of some 800,000 in Rwanda? A military tribunal is currently addressing accusations that they did.

Twelve years after a 100 day long killing spree left some 800,000 Rwandans dead, the tiny African nation continues to search for accountability and some sense of justice. Perhaps the most surprising of the accused is a force that was sent there to protect against the genocide -- the French military. Not only did French soldiers fail to prevent the massacre, says the Rwandan government, they actually facilitated it.


France denies having any role in the atrocities, but they have set up a military tribunal last year that is currently investigating accusations by six Tutsis that French troops were complicit in the genocide. Last year, a former French soldier claimed that French troops had trained Rwanda militia during the two years prior to the genocide.

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