François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye is a former

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n soldier, who is chiefly known for his role in the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

Background and role in genocide

Nzuwonemeye was born in Kigali-rural préfecture, Rwanda; he is of

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...

ethnicity. Nzuwonemeye entered the

Rwandan Armed Forces The Rwandan Defence Force (RDF, , , ) is the military of Rwanda. Prior to 1994, Rwanda's military was officially known as the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), but following the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan genocide, the Rwandan Patriotic Front ( ...

, and by 1994 held the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. In 1993, he was commander of the 42nd battalion of FAR; he was subsequently promoted to commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion. The ICTR indictment alleges that between 1990 and 1994, Nzuwonemeye and other officers conspired to exterminate the

Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

civilians and political opponents, and helped to train ''

interahamwe The Interahamwe ( or ) is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990, as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (M ...

'' and militia groups who committed the genocide.Indictment against Nzuwonemeye
from the ICTR After Habyarimana's death and the start of the genocide, members of the Reconnaissance Battalion commanded by Nzuwonemeye's subordinate, Innocent Sagahutu, "tracked down, arrested, sexually assaulted, and killed" Rwandan Prime Minister

Agathe Uwilingiyimana Agathe Uwilingiyimana (; 23 May 1953 – 7 April 1994), sometimes known as Madame Agathe, was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her assassination on 7 April 1994, during the opening stages ...

. They also took into custody ten Belgian peacekeepers from UNAMIR who had been guarding her house. They were taken back to Camp Kigali, a FAR encampment, where they were "attacked and beaten" by members of RECCE under Sagahutu's command and were later killed. They were accompanied in this by members of the Presidential Guard commanded by Major

Protais Mpiranya Protais Mpiranya (30 May 1956 – 5 October 2006), also known as Sambao Ndume, was a Rwandan military officer and war criminal who was internationally wanted for his alleged role in the Rwandan genocide. Regarded as Rwanda's most wanted fugitive ...

After the genocide

Nzuwonemeye fled Rwanda after the RPF victory. In an indictment last amended on 25 September 2002, the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...

(ICTR) charged Nzuwonemeye with "conspiracy to commit

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

, genocide,

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, and violations of the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

." Nzuwonemeye was arrested in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 15 February 2000, the same day as his former deputy, Innocent Sagahutu, was arrested in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He was transferred to the authority of the ICTR on 23 May 2000. As of 2006, his joint trial with other FAR officers implicated in the genocide is currently underway. On 11, February 2014, Nzuwonemeye was acquitted by the ICTR.UN Court, On Appeal, Acquits 2 Rawandans in 1994 Genocide
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Feb 11, 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nzuwonemeye, Francois-Xavier Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Rwandan soldiers People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda