The Genocide

Between April and June of 1994, an estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed in the span of 100 days.The genocide was sparked by the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down. Hutu militia groups (the Interhamwe) engaged in brutal mass killings of Tutsis and Tutsi sympathizers. 

Women were subjected to sexual violence on a massive sale – between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped, gang raped, and raped with brutal objects – many of whom became infected with HIV. The international community ignored calls for help and did nothing to stop the killings and rapes. The scale and speed of the slaughter left the country reeling. The murders finally came to an end in mid-July when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) forces led an offensive fromneighboring Uganda to win control of much of the country. By that time, Rwanda had endured Africa’s worst genocide in modern times. The widespread campaign of rape led to the births of an estimated 20,000 children – second-generation survivors – who now as young adults, represent the future of Rwanda.