Augustin Ndindiliyimana

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Augustin Ndindiliyimana (born 1943) is a former Rwandan general.

1 Background
2 Role during the genocide
3 Arrest and trial
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

Ndindiliyimana was born in Nyaruhengeri commune, Butare prefecture, Rwanda. He joined the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and, as of 1994, held the rank of Major General. On 2 September 1992 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie nationale. ^[1]

[edit] Role during the genocide

From late 1990 until April 1994, Ndindiliyimana is alleged to have conspired with other high-level FAR officers to plan the logistics of the Rwandan Genocide. In early April of 1994, he allegedly informed interahamwe leaders of a plan by UNAMIR force commander Roméo Dallaire to search for a cache of weapons, later used in the genocide. ^[2]

Following the death of President Habyarimana, Ndindiliyimana was one of the senior FAR officers to serve on the Crisis Committee, along with Théoneste Bagosora and Tharcisse Renzaho. ^[3]

Ndindiliyimana is mentioned frequently in Roméo Dallaire's chronicle of his time as UNAMIR force commander. Dallaire writes that he "had always found his [Ndindiliyimana's] loyalties an enigma" and initially assumed he represented a moderate voice in the crisis committee. ^[4]

In his autobiography, Paul Rusesabagina says that Ndindiliyimana was more of a moderate who did not seem to entirely approve of the genocide. He also notes that Ndindiliyimana was responsible for dismantling a potentially disastrous roadblock in front of the Hôtel des Mille Collines.

[edit] Arrest and trial

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued an indictment against Ndindiliyimana and three other former FAR officers, charging them with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and related crimes.

On January 29, 2000 he was arrested in Belgium and handed over to the custody of the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania. His trial is presently in progress. He is being defended by Canadian lawyer Christopher Black. ^[5]