Kigali says US arrests Rwandan genocide suspect

KIGALI, June 22 (Reuters) A Rwandan suspected of complicity in the 1994 genocide that killed 800,000 people was arrested this week trying to enter the United States, Rwanda's foreign minister said today.

Isaac Kamali, who appears on Rwanda's most wanted list submitted to Interpol, was detained at Philadelphia airport on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told Reuters.

He said the suspect, who is charged with several counts of genocide, holds a French passport that could hamper efforts to have him extradited to face trial in Rwanda.

''We would wish that he be extradited to Rwanda to face justice instead of passing him over to France,'' Murigande said.

Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Paris in November in protest at a French magistrate's call for President Paul Kagame to face prosecution over the killing of a former president.

The assassination triggered the slaughter of 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus by Hutu extremists.

''A red notice had been issued against him through Interpol, but he was staying in France, which meant getting hold of him was impossible,'' Murigande said.

Murigande said Kamali was a senior member of the former ruling party, which is largely blamed for orchestrating the 100-day genocide.

He is accused of participating in acts of killings, looting and destruction of Tutsi property in Nyabikenke, southern Rwanda.

Until his arrest, Kamali was working with a rehabilitation centre in southern France, according to a Rwandan newspaper.

On Monday, the international court trying the masterminds of the genocide said it wants to send about 17 cases back to Rwanda as it prepares to wind down next year.

REUTERS SKB KP1828