Rwanda remembers genocide victims

About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu militias after the assassination of ethnic Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994.

During the silence, the sound of one woman's sobs reverberated around the national football stadium.

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Western countries have been criticised for not sending senior representatives to the ceremonies.

Rwanda's government and survivor groups accuse the international community of not doing enough to prevent the genocide.

Earlier, a national memorial was opened on a hilltop in the capital Kigali, with the remains of hundreds of victims reburied in 20 coffins.

Women in traditional dress held up photos of their relatives killed in the 100 days of slaughter.

A museum on the site is to display pictures of the 300,000 children who are estimated to have been killed.

At the Amahoro (Peace) national stadium, brass bands played solemn music in front of a crowd of some 20,000 people.

Later on Wednesday, more than 600 children are due to lead a vigil featuring prayers and memories of the genocide.

A monument to 10 massacred Belgian peacekeepers is also to be inaugurated.

They were killed on 7 April 1994, trying to protect moderate Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyamana.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a worldwide minute of silence at 1200 local time around the world.

To mark the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, he has announced an "action plan to prevent genocide".

"The world must be better equipped to prevent genocide and act decisively to stop it when prevention fails," he said.

Mr Annan was head of UN peacekeeping in 1994 and has come in for severe personal criticism. He is not attending the ceremonies.

Earlier, Rwanda's ambassador to Kenya Seth Kamanzi urged governments across the world to hand over fugitive genocide suspects to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

"There can never be reconciliation as long as justice has not prevailed," Mr Kamanzi told a news conference in Nairobi.

About 15 people suspected of planning or organising the genocide are reportedly still at large.

Earlier this week, the former UN commander in Rwanda accused Western states of being responsible for the genocide.

Canadian General Romeo Dallaire said France, which led the small international peacekeeping force at the time of the genocide, the UK and the US in particular did not care enough to stop the killing.

"It's up to Rwanda not to let others forget they are criminally responsible for the genocide," he told a genocide conference in Kigali on his first visit to the country since 1994.

"There is no country today... which can wash its hands of Rwandan blood just by saying sorry."