1994 â April 6th; President Habyarimanaâs airplane is shot down. He and the President of neighbouring Burundi are killed. The blame is placed on the Tutsis. Massacres of Tutsis begin.

1994 â 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 âpangasâ â machete-like weapons. U.N. forces are forbidden to intervene, being only allowed to âmonitorâ the situation.

1994 â April 21st â 10 Belgian soldiers are killed; the UN reduces its forces in the country from 2,500 to 250.

1994 â April 30th â the situation is debated in the United Nations Security Council. They refuse to declare it a âgenocideâ, which would mean they would be forced to intervene.

1994 â 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 âacts of genocide may have been committed.â

1994 â June 22nd; after an initial reluctance, led by the USA delegation, the UN agrees that the killing constitutes officially a âgenocideâ. No troops have arrived in Rwanda. French forces are to be despatched to the south west of Rwanda to create a âsafe-havenâ (although killing will continue here, too).

1994 â July 17th; the RPF invasion troops reach the capital, Kigali. The massacres finally stop.

Victims

The tutsi's and some moderate hutu's

What Happened?

In the 1994 in one hundred days the Hutu government and some extremist almost had success in taking out the whole Tutsi population in Rwanda. To take out the Tutsi the Hutu's used guns, machetes, other implements to kill about 800,000 Tutsi's.Other ways they killed the Tutsi, were hacking them to death, burning them alive, thrown to death or into pits or latines, and some were forced to kill their friends, relatives, and neighbors. Many more were mutilated, maimed or physically scarred for life. The main two groups that did most of the killings were the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi. These two groups killed almost up to 10,000 people a day. This was the fastest and most efficient killings of the twentieth century.

How did it end?

The Tutsi rebels had defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but after the war had ended some two million Hutu refugees feared Tutsi retaliation so the fled to neighboring countries Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and former Zaire.

What happened to those responsible?

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

Approximately two million refugees, most of whom participated in the genocide and feared Tutsi retaliation fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire.

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 âclosureâ process of Rwanda through local hearings or âgrass courtsâ(gachacha).

What happened to those who were attacked?

Rwanda

has come a long way and is steadily improving. There have been numerous political changes in Rwanda over the past decade. Many Rwandans still live in poverty, but there have been substantial changes in attempt to improve the quality of living. The economical and political aspects are not the only areas changing in

Rwanda

. One would not think that after such a tragedy that these two tribes would ever be able to live in the same country. However, they are going beyond that to reuniting and working together to rebuild their country. It truly is a miracle that after the Hutus destroyed the Tutsi people and raped the remaining women that they can move past what happened in order to rebuild their country. Rwanda has come far in reuniting families and offering a better lifestyle. The people of Rwanda have pulled together and have become families to those who are without their own. Families that have been separated are being reunited and brought back to the home they know. The Rwandans want their homes, their jobs, and their lives back and are making efforts to help the government in any way possible. Rwanda has many problems that still need to be worked out, but they have made tremendous progress since the genocide eleven years ago. The government is working together with foreign aid and the UN to rebuild Rwanda, but when something this tragic happens it takes a while for things to get back as close to normal as possible. Although the genocide was a very devastating time in our history, the Rwandan people have not stopped pressing on in hopes of having a better future. There will be trials and tribulations as they try to rebuild their country but I believe they have the determination to make it happen. A true miracle has taken place since the genocide in 1994. The tragedy of Rwanda will never be forgotten but luckily we can celebrate today because of the significant steps they have taken to overcome this devastating genocide

Is it a "recognized" genocide?

Yes it is recognized as a genocide

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