Spain wants Rwanda general extradited for genocide

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain requested on Friday that South Africa extradite an exiled Rwandan general who it wants on charges including genocide and killing four Spaniards in Rwanda in the 1990s, the Justice Ministry said.

General Kayumba Nyamwasa

The Spanish High Court has charged Lieutenant-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa with genocide and with the murder of a Spanish missionary in 1994 and three Spanish aid workers in 1997.
"He took part in systematic and planned attacks on the civilian population, in forced disappearances and crimes against international law, also, organising and executing terrorist attacks," a ministry statement said.
Nyamwasa fled to South Africa this year after falling out with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and later accused him of using an anti-corruption campaign to frame opponents.
The general fought alongside Kagame to end the 1994 genocide in the central African nation. During and after that war he held a number of key positions, including army chief of staff and head of the country's intelligence services.
Nyamwasa was shot in the stomach in June in what his wife called a Rwandan-backed assassination attempt. South African police arrested four people for the attack.

© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved

Related articles by Zemanta

• Exiled Rwanda general shot in Johannesburg (theglobeandmail.com)
• Exiled Rwanda general wounded in South Africa shooting (reuters.com)
• Out of step (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Rwanda's election : President Paul Kagame under scrutiny (economist.com)
• Former Rwandan army chief shot in South Africa (guardian.co.uk)