Rwandan war crimes court nabs officer

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A former senior Rwandan military officer, on the lam for nine years, was turned over to the United Nation's Rwandan genocide court Tuesday, officials said.

Idelphonse Nizeyimana, the former second in command for intelligence and military operations at an officers school, was arrested in Uganda, the United Nations said in a news release. Nizeyimana was transferred to the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda's detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania.

Nizeyimana alleged exercised authority over soldiers and personnel, and was perceived as a member of the elite inner circle of Rwanda's late President Juvenal Habyarimana, the United Nations said.

"(Nizeyimana) arrest is an important step forward in the fight against impunity and strongly signals the Great Lakes region's commitment to peace and security," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.

Of the 81 people indicted for violating international humanitarian law, 11 remain at large, the United Nations said. In 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed by Hutu militants, mainly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days.