Trial of Rwanda genocide suspect, Aloys Ntiwiragabo, opens in France

The trial of Aloys Ntiwiragabo, a top former Rwandan military official, who is accussed of alleged crimes against humanity during the country’s 1994 genocide that killed at least 800,000 people, has opened in France.

Ntiwiragabo was found hiding in the suburbs of the city of Orleans, about 100km (62 miles) southwest of Paris, prompting prosecutors to begin preliminary investigation on Saturday.

The former Rwandan spy chief, who was identified by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) as one of the architects of the genocide, was reportedly tracked down by French investigative news site Mediapart.

READ ALSO: Rwanda sentences ex-mayor to life in prison over role in 1994 genocide

Neither the ICTR, Interpol, France nor Rwanda were actively seeking him now and had dropped arrest warrants years ago.

The revelation of his whereabouts comes barely two months after another suspected genocide architect, Felicien Kabuga, was arrested on the fringes of Paris.

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