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Rwandan Genocide Facts

Rwandan Genocide Facts
The Rwandan genocide took place over a period of 100 days, from April 6th, 1994 to July 16th, 1994. The two ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis were involved in the mass genocide. The Hutu extremists attempted to carry out their plan to wipe out the entire Tutsi population. The catalyst to the violence and murders over the 100 day period was the shooting down of an airplane on April 6th of the President Habyarimana, a Hutu. Prior to the plane being shot down there had been an ongoing conflict between the Hutu government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front, called the Rwandan Civil War, which began in 1990.
Interesting Rwandan Genocide Facts:
Rwanda is located in central Africa.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front was composed mostly of Tutsi refugees. They had left Uganda because of Hutu violence against them.
In 1993 a ceasefire had been created to implement an agreement to allow a power-sharing government between the Hutu and Rwandan Patriotic Front.
During the 100 day period as many as 800,000 people were murdered in Rwanda. This number includes men, women and children.
The President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down by a missile fired from Rwanda's capital city Kigali.
Although it was never proven who shot the airplane down, Hutu believed it was the Tutsi and used it as reason to begin the genocide.
All Tutsi and Hutu had been required to carry identification cards identifying their nationality. This made it easy for the Hutu to identify Tutsi during the slaughter.
The majority of those murdered during the genocide were Tutsi but some moderate Hutu were also killed.
The genocide began in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. It spread rapidly from there to the rest of Rwanda.
The radio station RTLM began broadcasting on July 8th to the Hutu to begin killing the Tutsi by using a code phrase "cut down the tall trees". The broadcasts also referred to the Tutsi as cockroaches and told the Hutu to crush the cockroaches.
RTLM radio also broadcast the names of specific people that should be killed and then announced it when their murder had been accomplished.
The Hutu used mostly machetes, knives and clubs in their deadly assault on the Tutsi. Bullets were too expensive to use to murder all the people.
Some Tutsi were given the option of buying a bullet so that their death would be quicker and less painful.
Many Tutsi were caught at road blocks as they tried to flee.
Many Tutsi were found hiding in churches, hospitals and schools. These buildings had previously been considered places of refuge and safety but during the genocide the Tutsi were not safe in these buildings.
The Rwandan Patriotic Front slowly gained strength and began to take over the country, ending the mass genocide in mid-July.
On average six men, women and children were killed every minute of the genocide.
Approximately 20% of Rwanda's people were killed during the Rwandan genocide.
Approximately 70% of the Tutsi people living in Rwanda were killed during the genocide.
Because of the genocide, 75,000 surviving children were orphaned.
Before the genocide there were approximately 1,100,000 to 1,200,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu. After the genocide there were only 300,000 to 400,000 still living.


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