Kigali — Six hundred Rwandans suspected of participating in the 1994 genocide have fled the country to neighbouring Burundi, a senior official told Hirondelle News Agency on Tuesday.

"As of last Friday [15 April], we are aware of about 600 people crossing to Burundi", said Augustin Nkusi, the head of the Legal department of the National Service for Gacaca Jurisdictions.

Reports from Burundi however indicate that at least 2,000 Rwandans fleeing from the semi-traditional genocide courts have so far arrived in the country.

"We don't know anything about such a figure", said Nkusi. "I'm in touch with authorities in Butare province and all we know about is 600"

The south Rwanda province of Butare borders Burundi. Most of the fugitives are believed to be from this province.

Nkusi acknowledged that there were also people fleeing to other neighbouring countries like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo but said he had no figures.

"Most of these people are victims of rumours. They don't understand Gacaca", he said. "Gacaca is a very sympathetic system. If these fugitives were to be tried for the crimes they are fleeing from in the countries where they have fled to, they would regret ever leaving Rwanda", he added.

Nkusi said that the Gacaca department was planning to step up sensitization about the courts to counter "negative rumours spreading in some places".

The governor of the province of Butare, Hope Tumukunde, last week visited a refugee camp set up for the fugitives in Burundi to convince them to return to Rwanda. The Gacaca department says eight people have since returned.

Gacaca courts are quasi-traditional genocide courts set up about three years ago to speed up genocide trials and reconciliation. The courts have more lenient sentences than conventional courts. The first trials started March 10th, 2005.