Rwanda Tribunal Evidence Room Catches Fire

ARUSHA, Tanzania (AP) -- A fire swept through an evidence room at the U.N. tribunal for Rwanda on Friday, destroying computers and folders but no key documents, a tribunal spokesman said.

The fire, which began in the evidence processing unit just before 7 a.m., likely was caused by an electrical fault, said spokesman Roland Ammoussouga.

Officials were still assessing the damage, he said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is investigating and trying the alleged masterminds of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which killed more than 500,000 people.

Kennedy Ogetto, a defense attorney at the court, said the fire showed a ``serious security lapse'' on the part of the tribunal.

There currently are six trials, involving 20 suspects, at the court.

Since it was set up in 1994, the tribunal has acquitted three people and convicted 18 others.