A former Rwandan Army colonel has been convicted of genocide and sentenced to life in prison for being behind the 1994 slaughter of more than 500,000 people, the most significant verdict of a U.N. tribunal set up to bring the killers to justice.

Theoneste Bagosora AP PHOTO

Col. Theoneste Bagosora, 67, was found guilty Dec. 18 of crimes against humanity, and the court said he used his position as director of Rwanda's Ministry of Defense to direct Hutu soldiers to kill Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Former military commanders Anatole Nsengiyumva and Aloys Ntabakuze also were found guilty of genocide and sentenced to life. The former chief of military operations, Gratien Kabiligi, a brigadier, was cleared of all charges and released.

"It's been a very important day in the tribunal here (in Tanzania) with judgments given in … important cases that shed a lot of light on really what happened on that fateful day (April 6, 1994), and the few days following thereafter," Hassan Bubacar Jallow, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, told news channel France 24.

The court said that Bagosora "was the highest authority in the Rwandan Ministry of Defense with authority over the Rwandan military," and was responsible for the deaths of former Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian peacekeepers who tried to protect her as she was killed at the outset of the genocide.

"Bagosora ... is the person behind all the massacres," said Jean Paul Rurangwa, 32, who lost his father and two sisters. "The fact that he was sentenced to the biggest punishment the court can give is a relief."