Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told CNN International in an interview that Habyarimana was arrested on genocide charges. They include genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, complicity to commit genocide, and direct and public incitement to commit genocide, said John Bosco Mutangana, the head of Rwanda's Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit.

The charges also cover crimes against humanity, specifically murder and extermination; creation of a criminal gang, namely the Hutu militias; and aiding and abetting the killings perpetrated by soldiers in violation of the Geneva Convention, Mutangana told the international news cable network. "We have of course strong evidence linking her to the genocide and the planning of the genocide itself, as early as the early 1990s," Mutangana said.

Minister Mushikiwabo was confident that Mrs. Habyarimana will be extradited to Rwanda to face justice, but says the government is open to any other idea as long as it brings justice, "Ideally she should be extradited to Rwanda to face justice where the crime was committed, there is no question about it and that is what we are demanding." She adds, "But just like many other people who are implicated in this genocide, we want first and foremost justice-whether it is carried out in Rwanda or countries of residence of the fugitives, the important thing is that there is justice somewhere." However her justice counterpart Tharcisse Karugarama was a bit wary of the development when the news of Mrs. Habyarimana's arrest broke out Tuesday afternoon. He cautioned against expecting too much saying, "It is a good sign that the French judicial authorities are finally responding to our requests but there should not be any excitement about it, it is a judicial process that is just starting to take its course and we will not know how it will end we should just wait and see."

Former president was killed in April 1994 when his plane was shot down near the capital, Kigali. The mass killings began hours later, and by the time they ended 100 days later, some 800,000 people had been killed. Mrs. Habyarimana, has been living in France, where she ran to, three days after her husband's plane was brought down on April 4 triggering the 1994 genocide that left over 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead in 100 days. The Kigali government accuses her of being one of the brains behind the genocide and of being more hard-line than her assassinated husband, also in the circle of influential members of the then government commonly referred to as Akazu. "A number of people in Rwanda have been waiting to hear what happens to Habyarimana's widow, so for my government and the people of Rwanda, it is an important day where we are starting to see very serious signs of justice, for the genocide survivors of course," emphasizes Minister Mushikiwabo.

The fact that Agathe Habyarimana fled the country three days after her husband's death is canon-folder to her defenders that she never participated in the killings. Many of her supporters argue that she is a victim of a political witch-hunt aimed at paralyzing the opposition in Rwanda. Rumors are rife in Rwanda that Agather Habyarimana remains one of the major financiers of the opposition in Rwanda.

News of Mrs. Habyarimana's arrest was received with wide spread gratitude in Kigali among her opponents. Theodore Simburadari who heads the umbrella association of Genocide survivors in Rwanda-IBUKA saying, what France needs to do now is ensure justice is meted out. "We now hope that the French government is not going to do what it has been doing in the past, where it arrests people who committed genocide against the Tutsis and then releases them after a few hours or days." He further adds, "The role played by Agathe Kanziga in planning the genocide against the Tutsis is well known as it was written by those who knew the inner click or Akazu very well...they have a track record in planning the genocide against the Tutsis."

The circumstances surrounding Habyarimana's death remain a mystery. He was a Hutu, and speculation immediately fell on Tutsis as the perpetrators of the attack -- but some have also speculated that Hutus themselves shot down the plane to provide cover for the genocide.

Top officials such as army generals and politicians who allegedly took part in the genocide have been tried in the Rwandan justice system and the International Criminal Tribunal, which is based in Tanzania.

Civilians who allegedly contributed either directly or indirectly are tried by local communities in "gacaca" courts, which allow survivors to confront their attackers. Some human rights organizations have criticized the gacaca courts for falling short on delivering justice.

After that, the French court must decide on the validity of the Rwandan warrant before any decision on extradition can be made, the deputy prosecutor said.

Rwandan officials began working on Agathe Habyarimana's case in 1995, but it took a while before they could gather enough evidence to indict her, Mutangana said. They submitted the indictment last October, he said.

Mutangana said Rwanda is hoping France will extradite her.

"We are the first beneficiaries of justice, the Rwandans," he said.

Agathe Habyarimana was taken into custody at her home in Courcouronnes, south of Paris.  She was released on the condition that she remain in France and check in with local police every month, French officials said. Habyarimana told prosecution officials she would fight Rwandan attempts to extradite her, a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

A French advocacy group for genocide survivors describes France as a haven for those who helped perpetrate the killings, and it has filed 16 lawsuits against people living there, including Habyarimana. The group's leader, Alain Gauthier, cautiously welcomed her arrest.

But extradition proceedings "could drag on for a long time, and could end with a refusal to hand her over,'' Gauthier said.

During his three hour visit to Rwanda last late February, President Sarkozy admitted to mistakes by French officials in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and promised to pursue fugitives. "I want to tell people that all the people responsible will be found and punished there is nothing else I can tell you and President Kagame understands. We want to refuse all political interferences apart from those involved. There is a judicial process in place." Rwanda and France restored their severed relations in November last year after three years of diplomatic freeze. Mrs. Habyarimana's formerly convicted brother Protais Zigiranyirazo's was released by the UN backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in November 2009. The judges at the Arusha based tribunal cited serious errors committed during 2008 conviction and sentencing, as the reason behind their decision to overturn Zigiranyirazo's 20 years sentence.