Rwandan president accused in assassination

PARIS, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A Paris judge has accused Rwandan President Paul Kagame of ordering the assassination of two African presidents in 1994, a report says.

In a filing obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere accused Kagame of ordering the downing of the Rwandan presidential plane, killing President Juvenal Habyarimana, as well as the president of Burundi, their aides and the French crew.

The assassination was followed by the massacre of 800,000 mostly Tutsi Rwandans. The assassinations are not believed to be the sole cause of the genocide in Rwanda.

Bruguiere's report also alleges that officials in the United States and at the United Nations protected Kagame, a U.S. ally, during earlier investigations into the crash, the Times reported.

The newspaper said the report has caused Kagame's government to sever relations with France.

Bruguiere launched his inquiry in response to a complaint from the widow of a French pilot, the Times said.