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April–July 1994 / Sub-Saharan Africa

The Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Extremist forces organized the killing of Tutsi civilians, also murdering Hutu and others who opposed the killings, exposing a severe failure of international protection mechanisms.

Read on the map and timeline
Era
Modern World
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Theme
Society
An imagined early twenty-first-century city: a tram passes a plaza where people walk, cycle and gather by trees and streetside shops.
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The story

On April 6, 1994, the president's aircraft was shot down over Kigali; the United Nations uses April 7 as the start of the genocide. Over approximately the next hundred days, soldiers, militias, political figures, and some civilians participated in genocide against the Tutsi, while Hutu and others who opposed extremism were also killed. The organized crimes of genocide must not be obscured by the general label of ethnic conflict, nor should all Hutu be identified as perpetrators. The cited archives of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda explain the background of the violence and accountability. This page does not give a single precise death toll, and Kigali represents atrocities committed in many locations across the country on the map.

Elsewhere in the world

Set against the peace and human rights goals of the United Nations' founding in 1945, this catastrophe prompted continued discussion of civilian protection, genocide prevention, and individual accountability.

Dates and precision

April–July 1994 Ongoing process

The dates describe a process over time; the interactive timeline uses its starting point.

Representative map location

Representative coordinates · -1.9441°, 30.0619°

Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.

Bibliography

  • Archives of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda | The Genocide
  • United Nations | Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
  • United Nations | April 7: The Beginning of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and Its Day of Commemoration

Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.

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Read this era · Modern WorldRead this region · Sub-Saharan Africa

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