Grenade attacks kill 1, wound 30 in Rwandan capital

By Hereward Holland

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwandan police arrested two men on Saturday in connection with three grenade attacks in the capital Kigali the previous night that killed one person and wounded 30.

Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga said the motive for the attacks, two in the town centre and one at the international bus station, was still not known.

He said, however, that genocide ideology remained prevalent in Rwanda 16 years after 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered and that could be an explanation for the blasts.

All three explosions happened within a half hour, although Kayiranga said it was not clear if they were coordinated.

"Three grenades exploded in Kigali ... resulting in the death of one person and the injury of 30. Among them were women and children," he told Reuters by telephone.

"Two suspects are being held by the national police. We are still investigating what was behind this."

Many grenades and other weapons are left over from lengthy conflicts in the Great Lakes region of central Africa and are often used to settle scores.

At a university hospital on Friday night, relatives told Reuters four of the wounded men were seriously wounded. One man had shrapnel wounds to his ear and nose.