France says Rwandan report unacceptable

PARIS, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- France labeled as unacceptable a Rwandan report accusing French leaders of being involved in the 1994 genocide in which as many as 800,000 Rwandans died.

The 500-page report released by the Rwandan Justice Ministry accused 13 senior French politicians, including President Francois Mitterrand and former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, of supporting the "preparation and execution of the genocide," The New York Times reported Thursday.

The report, issued Tuesday, said French soldiers in Rwanda joined in with "genocidal forces" in the systematic killing and rape of minority Tutsi refugees by the Hutu majority. France supported the Hutu government in a civil war with Ugandan-backed Tutsi exiles in the early 1990s.

Romain Nadal, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the report was biased and "contains unacceptable accusations against French politicians and military officials."