Leaders of Rwanda Slaughter to Be Sought

The U.N. tribunal on the Rwandan genocide will issue warrants soon against alleged leaders of the slaughter and will demand that countries where they have taken refuge hand them over, its chief judge said Friday.

“We’re confident the first indictments will be out by the end of the year,” Richard Goldstone, a South African, said during a visit to the Rwandan capital. He said about 400 people are on a list of suspects.

More than a year after the killing of an estimated 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus by soldiers and death squads loyal to a now-ousted Hutu government, the international community has yet to bring those responsible to justice.

Goldstone said that funding problems that had hampered investigations were now solved.

Arrest warrants will soon be issued to countries hosting extremist leaders, most of whom are living openly in Zaire, Kenya and Europe.