Belgian peacekeepers prompted the withdrawal of most peacekeeping troops from Rwanda, effectively clearing the way for slaughter. Over the next 100 days, people were being killed at an astonishing rate. The number of dead in the genocide varies from 500,000 to more than 1,000,000 people, depending on the source. Upon the interference of Tutsi army in response to the genocide, Bagosora fled into neighbouring Zaire. "Fed and protected in refugee camps supported by millions of dollars in international aid, the Hutu Power leaders were able to hold regular planning meetings and to recruit new members." With Bagosora actively involved, they rebuilt their military structures with the purpose of wiping out the Tutsi population. ICTR trial Bagosora later moved to Cameroon with several other Hutu Power leaders. It was there that he was detained with André Ntagerura in 1996. In 1997, he first appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, to face thirteen counts of eleven different international crimes, based on the laws of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The joint trial with three other senior military officers charged as co-conspirators opened on 2 April 2002. During his trial further evidence was submitted that in 1991 he and other co-accused helped to draft a document where they referred to the Tutsi ethnic group as the "principal enemy" which was widely distributed in the army. They were also accused of supporting the media outlets responsible for spreading hate messages and making lists of victims. The trial wrapped up on 1 June 2007, after five years, with Colonel Théoneste Bagosora still maintaining his innocence. On 18 December 2008, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Bagosora and two other senior Rwandan army officers, Major Aloys Ntabakuze and Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva, guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced him to life imprisonment. In ruling that life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence for Bagosora the three trial judges concurred that "The toll of human suffering was immense as a result of crimes which could have only occurred with his orders and authorisation." The tribunal court stated that Bagosora had been "the highest authority in the Rwandan Defense Ministry, with authority over the military" in the aftermath of the assassination of President Habyarimana. The court ruled that Bagosora was responsible for the murders of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the ten Belgian peacekeepers who had been