Paris Court Recommends Probe into French Role in Rwanda Genocide

The Paris Court of Appeal has recommended that an investigation be conducted into the inaction of the French army over its alleged complicity in the Bisesero massacres during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Michel Nkurunziza writes for New Times, based on an AFP report.

An estimated 50,000 people were killed in the Bisesero area of Western province, a region that was then deemed a haven of Tutsi resistance.

Genocide survivors in the hills of Bisesero earlier accused French troops of deliberately abandoning them to the Interahamwe militia who murdered hundreds of people in the area within days. French prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into possible complicity in crimes against humanity in December 2005 after complaints filed by survivors and human rights groups.

In September 2022, French judges dropped a case against French troops that were accused of being complicit in massacres when they were deployed to the region during 1994 genocide.

In April 1994, decades-long intercommunal tensions and clashes unfolded before the world’s eyes into genocide, as Hutu leaders led a deadly campaign against the Tutsi. The bloodshed unfolded, despite the presence of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda and despite the General Assembly’s unanimous adoption of the Genocide Convention in 1948, which defines genocide as a crime under international law.