France: Former gendarme Paul Barril, implicated in Rwanda genocide, dies

Paul Barril, a former French gendarme implicated over his alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, died Tuesday evening at age 80, AFP reported. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many years, and his death was confirmed by the GIGN, the elite unit he co-founded in 1974. Barril gained prominence in a 1979 GIGN operation in Mecca and later helped establish an anti-terrorism unit at the Élysée Palace. A controversial figure, he was also accused in 1982 of planting weapons at the home of suspected Irish nationalists and stood trial in 2004 over Élysée phone-tapping operations.