The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 was a horrific event that resulted in the death of approximately 800,000 people in just 100 days. The genocide was carried out by extremist members of the Hutu ethnic group, who targeted Tutsi civilians and moderate Hutus in a brutal campaign of violence and terror.
The Beginning
The Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa are three major ethnic groups in the African Great Lakes region, particularly in Rwanda, Burundi, and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The origins of these groups are complex and have been the subject of much debate among scholars.
While around 85% of Rwandans are Hutus, the Tutsi minority has traditionally held a position of power in the country. However, in 1959, the Hutus toppled the Tutsi monarchy, and many Tutsis fled to neighboring nations, such as Uganda, with tens of thousands of individuals forced to leave their homes.
Following their exile, a group of Tutsis formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel organization that launched an invasion of Rwanda in 1990. The conflict persisted until a peace accord was reached in 1993.
However, on the night of April 6, 1994, a plane transporting the then-President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart, Cyprien Ntaryamira – both Hutus – was shot down, resulting in the deaths of all passengers on board.
Hutu extremists held the RPF responsible for the airplane crash and promptly launched a highly coordinated campaign of massacres.
According to the RPF, the Hutus had intentionally caused the plane crash to use it as a justification for initiating the genocide.
The Genocide
The genocide was executed with a high degree of organization, as the militias were furnished with lists of government opponents, whom they systematically hunted down and murdered, along with their families.
The genocide was marked by a shocking level of brutality, with instances of neighbors turning against one another, and even husbands killing their Tutsi wives under the threat of being killed themselves.
At the time, identification cards displayed a person’s ethnic group, which led to the establishment of roadblocks by militias where Tutsis were indiscriminately killed, often with the use of machetes that were easily accessible to most Rwandans in their households.
Moreover, thousands of Tutsi women were abducted and subjected to sexual slavery.
Rwanda has traditionally been a tightly regulated society, with a hierarchical structure extending from each district to the upper echelons of the government. The ruling party at the time, MRND, had a youth wing known as the Interahamwe, which was later transformed into a militia tasked with executing the genocide.
Local groups were provided with weapons and lists of targets, enabling them to locate and eliminate their victims with precision.
In addition, Hutu extremists established a radio station, RTLM, and circulated newspapers propagating hateful messages that encouraged people to “weed out the cockroaches,” a euphemism for killing Tutsis. The radio broadcasts even went as far as naming prominent individuals to be targeted.
Disturbingly, even some priests and nuns were convicted of participating in the genocide, including instances where individuals seeking refuge in churches were killed.
What Made The Genocide Last So Long
Following the death of US troops in Somalia, the United States was adamant about not intervening in another African conflict. The withdrawal of Belgian soldiers and most UN peacekeepers followed after 10 Belgian soldiers were killed.
French armies in Rwanda
In contrast, the French, who were allies of the Hutu government, dispatched a specialized force to evacuate their citizens and subsequently established a designated safe zone. However, they were accused of not doing enough to prevent the genocide from taking place in that region.
How It Ended
With the support of Uganda’s army, the well-organized RPF steadily captured more territory until July 4, 1994, when its forces triumphantly entered the capital city of Kigali.
Following the RPF’s victory, an estimated two million Hutus, including both civilians and individuals involved in the genocide, fled across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo, then known as Zaire, out of fear of reprisal attacks. Others sought refuge in neighboring Tanzania and Burundi.
Hutus, including both civilians and individuals involved in the genocide, fled across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo
However, human rights organizations have alleged that RPF fighters killed thousands of Hutu civilians as they assumed power, and continued to do so when they entered the DR Congo to pursue the Interahamwe.
The conflict, which continued until 2003, resulted in an estimated five million deaths, and some armed groups remain active in regions bordering Rwanda to this day.