Rwanda has formally accused top French leaders of playing major roles in the 1994 genocide that killed some 800,000 people. A report from an independent Rwandan commission says French officials were instrumental in training and harboring the Hutus and then helped to cover up their crimes. The report names several senior French leaders, including former prime minister Dominique de Villepin and the late former president Francois Mitterrand. Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama said Rwanda will try to press charges.

Tharcisse Karugarama: “This should be clear that this report is not just going to lie down, put into some store somewhere. It’s a report that’s going to be used. It’s a report that is going to help in bringing to justice, or in making attempts, very serious attempts, to bring to justice, people that were involved in committing genocide in this country.”

France has long denied the allegations and says the report has “no guarantee of independence or impartiality.”