The Arusha-based UN Tribunal, tracking down fugitives suspected of fanning tribal hatred that led to the 1994 massacre in Rwanda, said Thursday it was following crucial clues that could lead to the arrest of prime genocide suspects.

United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) , which has been undertaking war crime trials for the Rwanda genocide for over a decade, said it was running out of time for the prosecution of the suspects and had stepped up the hunt.

The Tribunal is desperately looking for 18 fugitives, among them the principle suspect, Felicien Kabuga, who is believed to have fanned the hate campaigns in the Rwandan media and funded the massacre of hundreds of thousands of people there.

"There are occasions when we got so close and he (Kabuga) escaped. We are investigating leads that he had protection from former Kenyan government officials," said Hassan Jallow, the ICTR's Chief Prosecutor after a series of meeting with Kenyan officials.

"Kabuga is number one priority for us, he was the number one financier of the Rwanda genocide. I am hoping by the time I get back, I will have something to report back," Jallow told a news conference in Nairobi.

"The request is for Kenya to live up to its legal obligation to carry out an effective investigation and, if the man is found, he should be arrested and handed over to the tribunal," Jallow said.

"You can run but you can't hide," Kenyan Assistant Foreign Minister said after meeting with the ICTR Delegation, which was accompanied by several European diplomats whose government is leading the hunt against the 18 fugitives.

"All the information that continues to reach us is to the effect that he visits or he resides and carries out business in this country," he said.

The UN body says all the leads it has got point out that Kabuga, whose property has been frozen in a European country, operates several business interests in Kenya and could be bribing his way to avoid detection. They believe the fugitive travels on fake papers.

"The tracking team is active to locate these fugitives," Jallow said.

"It is difficult to disclose information because they might jeopardize investigations but there are occasions when we got so close and he escaped," the Chief Prosecutor told a news conference in Nairobi Thursday after meeting Kenyan security officials.

"Our objective is to make sure that all these people are arrested, all the 18 and it is quite frustrating to see them out there in the field and not being brought in to stand trial," Jallow said.

The Arusha-based Tribunal has tried 31 suspects, leading to the conviction of some 26 with the acquittal of five others.

"These were high-level people, including prime ministers, ministers, the clergy and the media," Jallow said, adding that a musician, Simon Bikindi, whose songs whipped up tribal hatred, is currently standing trial for the genocide.

Source: Xinhua