Kigali, 10 January 2012-The Government of Rwanda today welcomed the report of the experts appointed by French Judges Marc Trévidic and Nathalie Poux that identified Kanombe Military Barracks as the launch site of the missile that brought down the plane carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994.

The plane was shot down as it prepared to land at Kigali International Airport, bringing back then President Habyarimana from negotiations over the Arusha peace accords. The crash served as an excuse for key perpetrators to execute a meticulously planned genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda.

"Today's findings constitute vindication for Rwanda's long-held position on the circumstances surrounding events of April 1994", Louise Mushikiwabo, Foreign Minister and Government Spokesperson said. "With this scientific truth, Judges Trévidic and Poux have slammed shut the door on the seventeen-year campaign to deny the genocide or blame its victims. It is now clear to all that the downing of the plane was a coup d'état carried by extremist Hutu elements and their advisors who controlled Kanombe Barracks."