Wichita ? The federal judge in the trial of a Kansas resident accused of committing atrocities during the 1994 Rwandan genocide has rescheduled opening statements for Friday morning.

Three jurors in the trial of 84-year-old Lazare Kobagaya were excused just before opening statements were to begin Thursday morning. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot summoned the potential jury pool back to the courthouse later in the day.

Belot did not explain why the three jurors were dismissed. But jury members had been instructed a day earlier to talk to their employers before the start of a trial expected to last up to 10 weeks.

Kobagaya is charged with unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship in 2006, and with fraud and misuse of an alien registration card. The Topeka resident says he is innocent.