Prosecutor: Claims of French role in Rwanda genocide unfounded

A picture taken on April 9, 2019, shows victims' bones recovered from pits which were used as mass grave during 1994 Rwandan genocide and hidden under houses in Kabuga, the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda. (PHOTO / AFP)

The French prosecutor's department said on Monday that there were no grounds to pursue legal claims that France bore responsibility for enabling the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Rwanda last month published a report in which it said that France was aware that genocide was being prepared in Rwanda ahead of the killings.

Rwanda last month published a report in which it said that France was aware that genocide was being prepared in Rwanda ahead of the killings

France's top prosecutor, Remy Heitz, said in a statement that investigations carried out by French authorities could not prove any complicity by French troops in the killings which were orchestrated by the Hutu-led government.

Between April and July 1994, some 800,000 people were killed, most from the ethnic Tutsi minority but also some moderate Hutus.

READ MORE: Rwanda report blames France for its role in 1994 genocide

Ever since the genocide, critics of France's role have said that then French President Francois Mitterrand failed to prevent the massacres or even supported the Hutu-led government.

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