Initial events of the Rwandan Genocide
Encyclopedia
The assassination
of presidents Juvénal Habyarimana
and Cyprien Ntaryamira
in the evening of April 6, 1994 was the proximate trigger for the Rwandan Genocide
, which resulted in the murder of approximately 800,000 Tutsi
and a smaller number of moderate Hutu
. The first few days following the assassinations included a number of key events that shaped the subsequent course of the genocide. These included: the seizing of power by an interim government directed by the hard-line Akazu
clique; the liquidation of opposition Hutu politicians; the implementation of plans to carry out a genocide throughout the country; and the murder of United Nations
peacekeepers, contributing to the impulse of the international community
to refrain from intervention.
At approximately 8:20 pm on April 6, 1994, the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana
, Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) Chief of Staff Deogratias Nsabimana, and other prominent figures was shot down while approaching Kigali International Airport
. Defence Minister Augustin Bizimana
was in Cameroon
attending a meeting, along with Col. Aloys Ntiwiragabo, head of army intelligence, G-2. Approximately one-and-a-half to two hours after the crash, the officers at army headquarters in Kigali
realized that they had to decide whom to appoint the new army chief of staff and somberly gathered in a meeting room. Soon after Col. Théoneste Bagosora
, director of the office of the minister of defence, arrived and stated that it was his responsibility to chair the meeting. Bagosora had a poor reputation as a military man, having received his appointment due to his political connections in the governing MRND
party. One colonel suggested that Major-General Augustin Ndindiliyimana
, chief of the staff of the National Gendarmerie, would be a more appropriate choice, but Ndindiliyimana declined to take responsibility, to the astonishment of some officers.
There was widespread fear of a power vacuum. Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana
was next in the line of political succession but most officers believed that she was not capable of governing; Bagosora dismissed the option of putting themselves under the authority of Uwiligiyimana. There was discussion about abiding by the Arusha Accords
, but this would require consulting with the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front
on the next steps. Bagosora suggested that the military should take over, but received the support of only one officer, Lt-Col Cyprien Kayumba, director of Defense Ministry financial services. Most officers were desperate to avoid the impression of a coup d'état
. Someone commented that the Accords were still in effect and the United Nations
remained in the country. The officers agreed to contact the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
(UNAMIR) and invite General Roméo Dallaire
, UNAMIR Force Commander, to the meeting to show that a coup was not being carried out.
, then commander of the UNAMIR. UNAMIR served as the military and legal force behind the Prime Minister of Rwanda
, in addition to its other peacekeeping duties.
Madame Agathe Uwiligiyimana
, the Rwandan Prime Minister
, planned to launch an appeal for calm over the radio
the following morning. General Dallaire sent an armed escort of five Ghanaian and ten Belgian peacekeepers to Uwiligiyimana to accompany her to the radio station. However, the presidential guard took control of the state radio station that morning and Madame Uwilingyimana had to cancel her speech. Later that day, the presidential guard assassinated her along with 10 Belgian UNAMIR peacekeepers. At 9pm, Daillaire learned that Belgians had been killed and Ghanaians brought to safety by Hutu forces.
Many powerful, moderate Hutus, who favored the Arusha Accords
, were later assassinated. An attempt was made on the life of Faustin Twagiramungu
, the prime minister of the Transitional Broad Based Government under the accords, but it failed thanks to the efforts of the UNAMIR
.
.jpg)
The presidential guard captured the fifteen Blue Helmets, troops from UNAMIR, who had been protecting the Prime Minister, Madame Uwilingiyimana. Five out of the fifteen were Ghana
ian and were quickly set free. The other ten were Belgian
s from the Paracommando Brigade, and were tortured and hacked to death with machete
s http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/etc/script.html.
Major Bernard Ntuyahaga
was convicted of the murders in 2007. In his book, Me Against My Brother, Scott Peterson describes the barbaric details of their murders:
Bagosora and his entourage immediately advised General Dallaire that it was better for the Belgians to leave immediately because the radio accused them of being the perpetrators behind the attack on the presidential airplane
. These accusations had aroused the uncontrollable anger of the group. Earlier in the year, General Dallaire had been told by an informer named "Jean-Pierre" in January 1994 that there was a plan to attack the Belgians in order to make them leave the UNAMIR, where they formed the largest contingent of soldiers.
The names of the peacekeepers who died are:
and Belgium
formed two separate militarily assisted evacuation operations whose actions are detailed in the role of the international community
section. France also evacuated dignitaries, families of Habyarimana
regime officials, and the children in a presidential orphanage
.
These evacuations were the cause of two very large controversies, after the fact. The first is over whether the genocide could have been stopped at the outset by nearby Western troops. At the time, there were American
soldiers in Burundi
, two hundred kilometres south of Kigali
. Larger groups of Western troops were also a few hours from Rwanda
by aeroplane
. Soldiers agree that these troops had the power to retake control of Kigali and to decisively support UNAMIR, which had a lamentable lack of equipment. The other controversy related to the complete refusal to evacuate
the endangered Tutsi. The only Western country which evacuated any Tutsi was Belgium; these were a very few Tutsi
who had succeeded in including themselves into the evacuated groups by negotiation or infiltration.
: Jean Kambanda
, who pleaded guilty. Read sub-chapters 14.4 to 14.8 of the United Nations
report. This government was characterized as controlling the genocide. The ICTR has sentenced or is in the process of sentencing the majority of its members. It seems that there was a fight for influence between Colonel Bagosora, who controlled the presidential guard, and the chief of staff of the FAR who wished to create a civil government. This government was thus the result of a trade-off of circumstances and Bagosora, who renounced a military government, "set up” (according to the terms of the agreement with the UN) a civil government formed of adept members of the Hutu Power
, motivated by the extermination of the Tutsi.
April 6, 1994, was the start of the civil war and ensuing Genocide. That evening, the Rwandan president Major General Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down over the Kigali airport. Also on board was Cyprien Ntaryamira
, the president of Burundi, and Deogratias Nsabimana, the chief of staff of the army. There were no survivors. The RGF immediately blamed the RPF for the assassination, and that very night the fragile peace accords shattered. The Presidential Guard immediately set out on well planned missions to assassinate all moderate Hutus and every last Tutsi, starting with those affiliated with the now destroyed Arusha Accords and the BBTG. They began their mission literally after the plane crash, wasting no time. When April 7 dawned, the country was already deep in bloodshed.
After the plane crash, UNAMIR found themselves spread thinly throughout the city, with their mandate now up in the air. They did not have enough forces to provide security for those now under attack, and were told by the United Nations to not fire unless fired upon. Civilians poured into the UN areas seeking protection, to find no food, running water, or electricity, the last two being severed very rapidly after the assassination of President Habyarimana. UNAMIR had little guidance as far as how they were to treat the civilians, and to what extent protection could be provided. Added to this were dozens of government employees and those in former positions of power who immediately realized they were in grave danger. Calls to UNAMIR for protection came faster than UNAMIR could respond, and traveling through Kagali to rescue people was not only highly dangerous, but impossible in many circumstances. Lack of vehicles, lack of secure communication, lack of gasoline, and lack of troops crippled the rescue efforts.
On April 7, it was decided that Madame Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the prime minister of the interim government and someone who worked vigilantly towards establishing the BBTG, should give a speech to the populace calling for calm. Radio Rwanda was the chosen, government controlled radio station, but she was denied access and assassinated shortly thereafter. With Madame Agathe murdered and the government controlled radio station off limits, there was no one to calm the civilians. Mis-information and hate speech began to fill the radio waves from the independent station, RTLM. RTLM immediately blamed the Belgium peace keepers and the RPF for the President's plane crash, asking for the population to rise up and kill the peace keepers and all Tutsi 'cockroaches'. Fear and hate, already deeply rooted within the country, was further spread at lightning speed, leaving UNAMIR powerless to stop the broadcasts despite pleas to the RGF to cease transmissions.
The RPF (Rwandese Patriotic Front) became the only force capable of stopping the Presidential Guard (along with the Gendarmes and Interahamwe - Kinyarwanda for 'those who attack together') who were setting up roadblocks throughout Kigali and starting the process of slaughtering Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Interahamwe were composed of local citizens, driven to extreme hate against the Tutsis, and were very difficult to control due to their close ties to the local communities and alliance with the RGF. UNAMIR's hands were tied. So the RPF, now out of options, launched major offenses against the RGF, with the RGF returning fire. The RGF leadership disavowed any connection with the 'rogue' gangs committing the killings, though the RGF leader, Colonel Théoneste Bagosora
, was later convicted of being a key orchestrator of the genocide. With all diplomatic ties severed, the only way to end the slaughter was to battle the RGF and wrestle control away from the Hutu extremist groups. The RPF were also guilty of bloodshed; some Hutu extremists who were thought, or known, to have killed innocent civilians were killed by the RPF, although not nearly to the extent of the 800,000 murdered Tutsis.
It was never proven that the RPF assassinated Habyarimana, and those on board. The crash site was denied to investigators. The current theory is that the RGF shot down their own Hutu president, in a well planned coup aimed at wrestling control away from the Arusha Accords, the BBTG, and those who were moderates or Tutsi friendly.
The fighting which began late on the evening of April 6 did not end for another hundred days, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, missing, and displaced. (See: Rwandan Genocide#Genocide)
Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
The assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of April 6, 1994, was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda....
of presidents Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
and Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...
in the evening of April 6, 1994 was the proximate trigger for the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
, which resulted in the murder of approximately 800,000 Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
and a smaller number of moderate Hutu
Hutu
The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
. The first few days following the assassinations included a number of key events that shaped the subsequent course of the genocide. These included: the seizing of power by an interim government directed by the hard-line Akazu
Akazu
The Akazu was an informal organization of Hutu extremists, a circle of relatives and close friends of then Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and his influential wife Agathe Habyarimana...
clique; the liquidation of opposition Hutu politicians; the implementation of plans to carry out a genocide throughout the country; and the murder of United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
peacekeepers, contributing to the impulse of the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
to refrain from intervention.
The crisis committee meets (6th)
- For details of the assassination and events in the minutes immediately afterward, see Assassination of Habyarimana and NtaryamiraAssassination of Habyarimana and NtaryamiraThe assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira on the evening of April 6, 1994, was the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda....
.
At approximately 8:20 pm on April 6, 1994, the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
, Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) Chief of Staff Deogratias Nsabimana, and other prominent figures was shot down while approaching Kigali International Airport
Kigali International Airport
Kigali International Airport , formerly known as Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda...
. Defence Minister Augustin Bizimana
Augustin Bizimana
Augustin Bizimana is a Rwandan politician. He is chiefly known for his alleged role in the Rwandan Genocide.Born in Gituza commune, Byumba Province, Rwanda, of Hutu ethnicity, Bizimana held the position of Minister of Defence in the government of Juvénal Habyarimana formed on 18 July 1993.After...
was in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
attending a meeting, along with Col. Aloys Ntiwiragabo, head of army intelligence, G-2. Approximately one-and-a-half to two hours after the crash, the officers at army headquarters in Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
realized that they had to decide whom to appoint the new army chief of staff and somberly gathered in a meeting room. Soon after Col. Théoneste Bagosora
Théoneste Bagosora
Colonel Théoneste Bagosora is a former Rwandan military officer. He is chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. And for that, he is sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTR.-History and career:...
, director of the office of the minister of defence, arrived and stated that it was his responsibility to chair the meeting. Bagosora had a poor reputation as a military man, having received his appointment due to his political connections in the governing MRND
Mouvement républicain national pour la démocratie et le développement
National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development was the ruling political party of Rwanda from 1975 to 1994 under President Juvénal Habyarimana. It was dominated by Hutus, particularly from President Habyarimana's home region of Northern Rwanda...
party. One colonel suggested that Major-General Augustin Ndindiliyimana
Augustin Ndindiliyimana
- Background :Ndindiliyimana was born in Nyaruhengeri commune, Butare prefecture, Rwanda. He joined the Rwandan Armed Forces and, as of 1994, held the rank of Major General. On 2 September 1992 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie nationale...
, chief of the staff of the National Gendarmerie, would be a more appropriate choice, but Ndindiliyimana declined to take responsibility, to the astonishment of some officers.
There was widespread fear of a power vacuum. Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
Agathe Uwilingiyimana was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her death on 7 April 1994. Her term was ended when she was assassinated during the opening stages of the Rwandan Genocide...
was next in the line of political succession but most officers believed that she was not capable of governing; Bagosora dismissed the option of putting themselves under the authority of Uwiligiyimana. There was discussion about abiding by the Arusha Accords
Arusha Accords
The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...
, but this would require consulting with the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...
on the next steps. Bagosora suggested that the military should take over, but received the support of only one officer, Lt-Col Cyprien Kayumba, director of Defense Ministry financial services. Most officers were desperate to avoid the impression of a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Someone commented that the Accords were still in effect and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
remained in the country. The officers agreed to contact the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
The United Nations Assistance Mission In Rwanda was a mission instituted by the United Nations to aid the implementation of the Arusha Accords, signed August 4, 1993, which were meant to end the Rwandan Civil War. The mission lasted from October 1993 to March 1996...
(UNAMIR) and invite General Roméo Dallaire
Roméo Dallaire
Lieutenant-General Roméo Antonius Dallaire, is a Canadian senator, humanitarian, author and retired general...
, UNAMIR Force Commander, to the meeting to show that a coup was not being carried out.
Assassination of Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana and Moderate Hutus
During the nighttime from 6 April to 7 April, the members of the Forces armées rwandaises, under the leadership of Bagosora, engaged in heated discourse with General Roméo DallaireRoméo Dallaire
Lieutenant-General Roméo Antonius Dallaire, is a Canadian senator, humanitarian, author and retired general...
, then commander of the UNAMIR. UNAMIR served as the military and legal force behind the Prime Minister of Rwanda
Prime Minister of Rwanda
-List of Prime Ministers of Rwanda:-Affiliations:*Parmehutu - Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement*MRND - National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development...
, in addition to its other peacekeeping duties.
Madame Agathe Uwiligiyimana
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
Agathe Uwilingiyimana was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her death on 7 April 1994. Her term was ended when she was assassinated during the opening stages of the Rwandan Genocide...
, the Rwandan Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Rwanda
-List of Prime Ministers of Rwanda:-Affiliations:*Parmehutu - Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement*MRND - National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development...
, planned to launch an appeal for calm over the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
the following morning. General Dallaire sent an armed escort of five Ghanaian and ten Belgian peacekeepers to Uwiligiyimana to accompany her to the radio station. However, the presidential guard took control of the state radio station that morning and Madame Uwilingyimana had to cancel her speech. Later that day, the presidential guard assassinated her along with 10 Belgian UNAMIR peacekeepers. At 9pm, Daillaire learned that Belgians had been killed and Ghanaians brought to safety by Hutu forces.
Many powerful, moderate Hutus, who favored the Arusha Accords
Arusha Accords
The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...
, were later assassinated. An attempt was made on the life of Faustin Twagiramungu
Faustin Twagiramungu
Faustin Twagiramungu is an ethnic Hutu politician in Rwanda. He was prime minister from 1994 until his resignation in 1995, the first head of government appointed after the Rwandese Patriotic Front captured Kigali...
, the prime minister of the Transitional Broad Based Government under the accords, but it failed thanks to the efforts of the UNAMIR
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
The United Nations Assistance Mission In Rwanda was a mission instituted by the United Nations to aid the implementation of the Arusha Accords, signed August 4, 1993, which were meant to end the Rwandan Civil War. The mission lasted from October 1993 to March 1996...
.
Execution of Ten Belgian Blue Helmets
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian and were quickly set free. The other ten were Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
s from the Paracommando Brigade, and were tortured and hacked to death with machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/etc/script.html.
Major Bernard Ntuyahaga
Bernard Ntuyahaga
Major Bernard Ntuyahaga, Rwandan Armed Forces, was convicted by a Belgian court in the murders of ten United Nations peacekeepers at the start of the Rwandan Genocide.- Biography :...
was convicted of the murders in 2007. In his book, Me Against My Brother, Scott Peterson describes the barbaric details of their murders:
Their Achilles tendons were cut so they couldn't run, and the Belgian soldiers — all of them privates — were castrated and died choking on their genitalia.
Bagosora and his entourage immediately advised General Dallaire that it was better for the Belgians to leave immediately because the radio accused them of being the perpetrators behind the attack on the presidential airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. These accusations had aroused the uncontrollable anger of the group. Earlier in the year, General Dallaire had been told by an informer named "Jean-Pierre" in January 1994 that there was a plan to attack the Belgians in order to make them leave the UNAMIR, where they formed the largest contingent of soldiers.
The names of the peacekeepers who died are:
- Lt. Thierry Lottin
- 1Sgt. Yannick Leroy
- Cpl. Bruno Bassinne
- Cpl. Stephane Lhoir
- Cpl. Bruno Meaux
- Cpl. Louis Plescia
- Cpl. Christophe Renwa
- Cpl. Marc Uyttebroek
- Cpl. Christophe Dupont
- Cpl. Alain Debatty
Evacuation of foreign personnel by Belgium and France
FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
formed two separate militarily assisted evacuation operations whose actions are detailed in the role of the international community
Role of the international community in the Rwandan Genocide
This article details the role of the international community in the Rwandan Genocide.-Belgium:Belgium was the last colonial power in Rwanda, and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda was initially mostly composed of Belgian soldiers, until they were withdrawn...
section. France also evacuated dignitaries, families of Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
regime officials, and the children in a presidential orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
.
These evacuations were the cause of two very large controversies, after the fact. The first is over whether the genocide could have been stopped at the outset by nearby Western troops. At the time, there were American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers in Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, two hundred kilometres south of Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
. Larger groups of Western troops were also a few hours from Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
by aeroplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. Soldiers agree that these troops had the power to retake control of Kigali and to decisively support UNAMIR, which had a lamentable lack of equipment. The other controversy related to the complete refusal to evacuate
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
the endangered Tutsi. The only Western country which evacuated any Tutsi was Belgium; these were a very few Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
who had succeeded in including themselves into the evacuated groups by negotiation or infiltration.
Composition of the interim government
The new government was created after the assassination of the Prime Minister, Madame Uwilingiyimana. Its prime minister was the first to be condemned by the International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
: Jean Kambanda
Jean Kambanda
Jean Kambanda was the Prime Minister in the caretaker government of Rwanda from the start of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide...
, who pleaded guilty. Read sub-chapters 14.4 to 14.8 of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
report. This government was characterized as controlling the genocide. The ICTR has sentenced or is in the process of sentencing the majority of its members. It seems that there was a fight for influence between Colonel Bagosora, who controlled the presidential guard, and the chief of staff of the FAR who wished to create a civil government. This government was thus the result of a trade-off of circumstances and Bagosora, who renounced a military government, "set up” (according to the terms of the agreement with the UN) a civil government formed of adept members of the Hutu Power
Hutu Power
Hutu Power was an ideology propounded by the Akazu and other Hutu extremists in Rwanda. It contributed to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 against the Tutsi and moderate Hutu.-Background:...
, motivated by the extermination of the Tutsi.
Civil war starts again between the RGF and the RPF
In 1993, the Arusha peace Accords established Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) and Rwandese Government Forces (RGF) sectors within Kigali, leaving a demilitarized zone between the two. Each side was supposed to work towards disarming after the Broad-Based Transitional Government (BBTG) was established, setting the stage for democracy and healing after the recent civil wars. The RGF was closely affiliated with the Presidential Guard and the Gendarmes (national police force of Rwanda), and loyal to the Rwandan president Habyarimana (a Hutu). Other Hutu power extremist groups aligned themselves with the RGF (including the MRND, the president's own Hutu power extremist political party). On the opposite side, the RPF was viewed by the RGF and affiliated groups as trying to take control of Rwanda with only Tutsi interests in mind, shutting out the Hutus in an attempt to return to colonial times when the Tutsis were the ruling class. Caught in the middle were moderates trying to weave the fragile peace tighter together.April 6, 1994, was the start of the civil war and ensuing Genocide. That evening, the Rwandan president Major General Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down over the Kigali airport. Also on board was Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira
Cyprien Ntaryamira , was President of Burundi from 5 February 1994 until his death when his plane was shot down on 6 April 1994.-Biography:...
, the president of Burundi, and Deogratias Nsabimana, the chief of staff of the army. There were no survivors. The RGF immediately blamed the RPF for the assassination, and that very night the fragile peace accords shattered. The Presidential Guard immediately set out on well planned missions to assassinate all moderate Hutus and every last Tutsi, starting with those affiliated with the now destroyed Arusha Accords and the BBTG. They began their mission literally after the plane crash, wasting no time. When April 7 dawned, the country was already deep in bloodshed.
After the plane crash, UNAMIR found themselves spread thinly throughout the city, with their mandate now up in the air. They did not have enough forces to provide security for those now under attack, and were told by the United Nations to not fire unless fired upon. Civilians poured into the UN areas seeking protection, to find no food, running water, or electricity, the last two being severed very rapidly after the assassination of President Habyarimana. UNAMIR had little guidance as far as how they were to treat the civilians, and to what extent protection could be provided. Added to this were dozens of government employees and those in former positions of power who immediately realized they were in grave danger. Calls to UNAMIR for protection came faster than UNAMIR could respond, and traveling through Kagali to rescue people was not only highly dangerous, but impossible in many circumstances. Lack of vehicles, lack of secure communication, lack of gasoline, and lack of troops crippled the rescue efforts.
On April 7, it was decided that Madame Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the prime minister of the interim government and someone who worked vigilantly towards establishing the BBTG, should give a speech to the populace calling for calm. Radio Rwanda was the chosen, government controlled radio station, but she was denied access and assassinated shortly thereafter. With Madame Agathe murdered and the government controlled radio station off limits, there was no one to calm the civilians. Mis-information and hate speech began to fill the radio waves from the independent station, RTLM. RTLM immediately blamed the Belgium peace keepers and the RPF for the President's plane crash, asking for the population to rise up and kill the peace keepers and all Tutsi 'cockroaches'. Fear and hate, already deeply rooted within the country, was further spread at lightning speed, leaving UNAMIR powerless to stop the broadcasts despite pleas to the RGF to cease transmissions.
The RPF (Rwandese Patriotic Front) became the only force capable of stopping the Presidential Guard (along with the Gendarmes and Interahamwe - Kinyarwanda for 'those who attack together') who were setting up roadblocks throughout Kigali and starting the process of slaughtering Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Interahamwe were composed of local citizens, driven to extreme hate against the Tutsis, and were very difficult to control due to their close ties to the local communities and alliance with the RGF. UNAMIR's hands were tied. So the RPF, now out of options, launched major offenses against the RGF, with the RGF returning fire. The RGF leadership disavowed any connection with the 'rogue' gangs committing the killings, though the RGF leader, Colonel Théoneste Bagosora
Théoneste Bagosora
Colonel Théoneste Bagosora is a former Rwandan military officer. He is chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. And for that, he is sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTR.-History and career:...
, was later convicted of being a key orchestrator of the genocide. With all diplomatic ties severed, the only way to end the slaughter was to battle the RGF and wrestle control away from the Hutu extremist groups. The RPF were also guilty of bloodshed; some Hutu extremists who were thought, or known, to have killed innocent civilians were killed by the RPF, although not nearly to the extent of the 800,000 murdered Tutsis.
It was never proven that the RPF assassinated Habyarimana, and those on board. The crash site was denied to investigators. The current theory is that the RGF shot down their own Hutu president, in a well planned coup aimed at wrestling control away from the Arusha Accords, the BBTG, and those who were moderates or Tutsi friendly.
The fighting which began late on the evening of April 6 did not end for another hundred days, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, missing, and displaced. (See: Rwandan Genocide#Genocide)