Important Years of the Rwandan Genocide
1990-October; RPF rebels invade
in the hope of creating a power-sharing situation with Habyarimana. They are
opposed by government troops – the FAR (Rwandan Armed Forces) – equipped and
trained by France and Zaire.
1991 – March; a cease-fire is declared. Recognising they need motivated support, the FAR begins training and equipping civilian militia known as “interahamwe”, meaning “those who stand together”.
1991/2 – Local persecutions of Tutsis, including murders, are carried out.
1993 – August: following months of negotiations, Habyarimana and the RPF sign a peace and power sharing agreement – the Arusha Peace Accord. 2,500 U.N. troops are deployed to Rwanda to oversee its implementation, under the command of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire.
1993/4 – President Habyarimana delays implementation of power sharing; training of interahamwe increases. The extremist Hutu radio station, – Radio Mille Collines – starts broadcasting calls to attack Tutsis.
1994 – April; President Habyarimana restates his commitment to the Arusha Peace Accords. Extremist Hutus are alarmed by this development.
1994 – April 6th; President Habyarimana’s aeroplane is shot down. He and the President of neighbouring Burundi are killed. The blame is placed on the Tutsis. Massacres of Tutsis begin.
1994 – April 7th; the FAR and the interahamwe set up roadblocks. They round up thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians, including women and children; most are massacred using ‘pangas’ – machete-like weapons. U.N. forces are forbidden to intervene, being only allowed to ‘monitor’ the situation.
1994 – April 21st – 10 Belgian soldiers are killed; the UN reduces its forces in the country from 2,500 to 250.
1994 – April 30th – the situation is debated in the United Nations Security Council. They refuse to declare it a ‘genocide’, which would mean they would be forced to intervene.
1994 – May 17th; the U.N. agrees to send 6,800 troops and policemen, mostly African, to Rwanda with powers to defend civilians, although this is delayed because of arguments over who will pay the bill and provide the equipment. A Security Council resolution says “acts of genocide may have been committed.”
1994 – July 17th; the RPF invasion troops reach the capital, Kigali. The massacres finally stop.
The Hutu extremists and interahamwe leaders escape to refugee camps in nearby countries, where they are placed alongside Tutsi refugees. In many cases, these men continue to exercise power within the camps and the killing of Tutsis continues. It is the crisis of refugee movement around Africa that makes the world ‘wake up’ to the genocide.
Between 800,000 and 1,071,00 Tutsis, and including some moderate Hutus, were murdered. Many more were mutilated, maimed or physically scarred for life. The mental anguish and the trauma cannot be measured. A steady number of people have been convicted in the International Court of Justice; those Tutsis who returned have been encouraged to assist in the ‘closure’ process of Rwanda through local hearings or ‘grass courts’ (gachacha).
1991 – March; a cease-fire is declared. Recognising they need motivated support, the FAR begins training and equipping civilian militia known as “interahamwe”, meaning “those who stand together”.
1991/2 – Local persecutions of Tutsis, including murders, are carried out.
1993 – August: following months of negotiations, Habyarimana and the RPF sign a peace and power sharing agreement – the Arusha Peace Accord. 2,500 U.N. troops are deployed to Rwanda to oversee its implementation, under the command of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire.
1993/4 – President Habyarimana delays implementation of power sharing; training of interahamwe increases. The extremist Hutu radio station, – Radio Mille Collines – starts broadcasting calls to attack Tutsis.
1994 – April; President Habyarimana restates his commitment to the Arusha Peace Accords. Extremist Hutus are alarmed by this development.
1994 – April 6th; President Habyarimana’s aeroplane is shot down. He and the President of neighbouring Burundi are killed. The blame is placed on the Tutsis. Massacres of Tutsis begin.
1994 – April 7th; the FAR and the interahamwe set up roadblocks. They round up thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians, including women and children; most are massacred using ‘pangas’ – machete-like weapons. U.N. forces are forbidden to intervene, being only allowed to ‘monitor’ the situation.
1994 – April 21st – 10 Belgian soldiers are killed; the UN reduces its forces in the country from 2,500 to 250.
1994 – April 30th – the situation is debated in the United Nations Security Council. They refuse to declare it a ‘genocide’, which would mean they would be forced to intervene.
1994 – May 17th; the U.N. agrees to send 6,800 troops and policemen, mostly African, to Rwanda with powers to defend civilians, although this is delayed because of arguments over who will pay the bill and provide the equipment. A Security Council resolution says “acts of genocide may have been committed.”
1994 – July 17th; the RPF invasion troops reach the capital, Kigali. The massacres finally stop.
The Hutu extremists and interahamwe leaders escape to refugee camps in nearby countries, where they are placed alongside Tutsi refugees. In many cases, these men continue to exercise power within the camps and the killing of Tutsis continues. It is the crisis of refugee movement around Africa that makes the world ‘wake up’ to the genocide.
Between 800,000 and 1,071,00 Tutsis, and including some moderate Hutus, were murdered. Many more were mutilated, maimed or physically scarred for life. The mental anguish and the trauma cannot be measured. A steady number of people have been convicted in the International Court of Justice; those Tutsis who returned have been encouraged to assist in the ‘closure’ process of Rwanda through local hearings or ‘grass courts’ (gachacha).
