Court convicts Rwandan genocide plotters

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Rwandan army Gen. Theoneste Bagosora was found guilty of genocide and sentenced to life in prison Thursday by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The tribunal based in Arusha, Tanzania, also convicted two other men, Maj. Aloys Ntabakuze and Lt. Col. Anatole Nsengiyumva, of genocide and gave them life terms, CNN reported.

The tribunal acquitted Gen. Gratien Kabiligi, the former head of Rwanda's military operations, and ordered his release.

Bagosora, a colonel in the Rwandan army, was accused of ordering Hutu militia to kill rival Tutsis during a 100-day binge of violence in 1994 that left more than 800,000 people dead, CNN said. Tribunal prosecutors said Bagosora was the mastermind.

The indictment against Bagosora alleged he opposed concessions his government made to Tutsi rebels during 1993 peace talks in Tanzania. The killings began April 7, 1994, the day after a plane with the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi on board was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.