A new permanent judge has been named by the United Nations for its International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), according to a press release from the Arusha-based UN court.

The press release said that the new judge, Joseph Asoka Nihal de Silva from Sri Lanka, will replace Asoka de Zozya Gunawardana. The latter has resigned from the post due to health reasons.

Judge Asoka Nihal de Silva will serve until 2007 when Gunawardana's tenure expires.

The ICTR court is set up to trial those held responsible for the massacre in 1994 when extremist Hutus killed at least 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a space of 100 days.

Source: Xinhua