The Australian:

Despite attempts by the French Defence Ministry to block the case, Jacques Baillet, the prosecutor at the army tribunal, has begun an investigation into the role of France's troops during the massacres.

An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the violence that followed the death of then Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana in an aircraft crash.

Most of the victims were Tutsis, slaughtered by the rival Hutu tribe.

The 2500-strong French peacekeeping force sent to Rwanda by Mitterrand is accused not only of failing to stop the genocide, but also of actively participating in it.

The accusations are contained in a lawsuit filed by six survivors who say they saw atrocities committed with the complicity of the French Army.

Mr Baillet rejected four of the plaintiffs on the ground that they had not suffered personally.

Although French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie described the claims as outlandish, the prosecutor decided two witnesses were sufficiently credible to warrant an inquiry.

One is Aurea Mukakalisa, who was raped by Hutu militia in a refugee camp set up and controlled by the French Army.

"The Hutu militiamen entered the camp and designated the Tutsis, who were forced to leave the camp by French soldiers," says Ms Mukakalisa, who was 27 at the time.

"I saw the militia kill the Tutsis who had left the camp. I saw French soldiers themselves kill Tutsis using knives."

Her brother, Felicien, was a victim at the Murambi camp. Hisbody has never been found.

The second witness, Innocent Gisanura, who was 14 at the time, was among thousands of Tutsis who fled into the Biserero forests in the hope of escaping the violence.

"We were attacked and chased by militiamen," he says in his statement. "French soldiers watched what happened from their vehicles without doing anything."

Later, France also did everything in her power to ensure that the killers were protected. For more background, see my previous article on French involvement in the Rwanda genocide.