Rwanda
1994: Rwanda
In 100 days in 1994 1,000, 000 Tutsis, and some moderate Hutus, were murdered in the Rwandan genocide. On April 6 1994 the plane carrying Rwanda’s president was shot down. The Tutsis were accused of killing the president, and Hutu civilians were told, by radio and word of mouth, that it was their duty to wipe out the Tutsis. First, though, moderate Hutus who weren’t anti-Tutsi should be killed. So should Tutsi wives or husbands. Although on a large scale, this genocide was carried out entirely by hand, often using machetes and clubs. The men who’d been trained to massacre were members of civilian death squads, the Interahamwe. The State provided supporting organisation – politicians, officials, intellectuals and professional soldiers incited the killers to do their work. Local officials assisted in rounding up victims and making suitable places available for slaughter.
Tutsi men, women, children and babies were killed in thousands in schools and churches. The victims, in their last moments alive, were also faced by another appalling fact, their cold-blooded killers were people they knew – neighbours, work-mates, former friends, sometimes even relatives through marriage.
