The U.N.-backed international tribunal trying Rwanda's worst genocide cases ended its final hearing Wednesday after more than two decades of work.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, was set up in 1994 by the United Nations to try those responsible for the genocide.

Police in Burundi on Friday fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters calling for the president not to run for a third term, as tensions rise in the central African state.

Opposition parties are concerned at incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza's expected bid for a third term in June elections, despite the constitution stating a president can only be elected twice.

Burundian farmer Emmanuel Minani knew it was time to leave when the gang who had terrified him for months told him directly they would torch his house and kill him.

As elections in Burundi approach, thousands of people are fleeing into neighbouring Rwanda, fearing violence from the hands of the ruling party's youth wing, the Imbonerakure.

Sarah Uwumugishan, a 19-year old Rwandan, was born two years after the genocide that ripped her country apart but she says she is scarred for life.

"I feel I have lived through the genocide," said Sarah, who is swept up in grief, horror and torment when commemorations are held in April to remember those killed in the most brutal of ways.

France will release a man accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda massacre after the Paris appeal court ruled in his favor on Friday, his lawyer said.

Claude Muhayimana, who obtained French nationality in 2010, was arrested a year ago in the northern city of Rouen.

A Congolese army offensive against Rwandan Hutu rebels may be advancing rapidly, but many fear it is failing in its main objective of disarming them as the fighters melt away into the forest.

The violent resistance initially put up by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in its strongholds in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has given way to retreat, with the guerillas avoiding clashes with the army.  

Seven Rwandan rebels have been killed and at least 20 captured in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a government offensive that has widened to include swathes of the country's southeast, authorities said Sunday. 

"Since the start of the operation four FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) have been killed in North Kivu and three in South Kivu," said government spokesman Lambert Mende.

A Rwandan court on Friday sentenced popular musician Kizito Mihigo to 10 years in prison for conspiracy against the government of strongman President Paul Kagame.

Mihigo was also found guilty of "forming a criminal group" and "conspiracy to commit murder," but judge Claire Bukuba threw out charges of complicity in a terrorist act.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame got a mixed reception from protesters in Paris Friday as he visited the U.N. cultural agency on his first trip to the city since accusing France of "participating" in genocide.

He is not due to meet with French officials during his visit for a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union, a U.N.-specialized agency for information and communication technologies, where he is co-chair of the broadband commission.

Fearful villagers have been fleeing their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the army pursues Rwandan Hutu rebels in a new offensive, a resident said on Thursday

Troops have captured all positions of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) around Mulenge since it launched the offensive two days ago in the Uvira territory of South Kivu province, an officer told AFP by phone on Wednesday.