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Former Rwandan Mayor found guilty of genocide

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has handed down a sentence of 15 years to a former mayor, after he was found guilty on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Gregory Ndahimana was mayor of the Kivumu district in 1994 when a church was bulldozed by police, killing more than 2,000 people trapped inside.

While he was cleared of directly participating in the massacre himself, Ndahimana was found to have played a crucial role in the killings.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda said in a statement,

"The chamber ... found Ndahimana guilty of genocide and extermination by aiding and abetting as well as by virtue of his command responsibility over communal police in Kivumu."

Ndahimana is the third person to be tried and convicted by the ICTR for the church massacre in the town of Nyange.

The church's priest Athanase Seromba was sentenced to life in prison in 2008 and Rwandan businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga was sentenced to 30 years earlier this month after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.

More than 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered during a 100-day killing spree in Rwanda during the infamous 1994 genocide.

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