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eventREF E-0081846Revised

Event record

Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country

Date
18 Apr 1994
Updated
30 Sep 2019
Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country

From 7 April until mid July 1994, ethnic violence broke out in Rwanda between the Tutsis and the Hutus. The Hutus who are the majority, set out to kill, rape and loot properties of the Tutsis. The genocide followed the day after the death of the Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana. Habyarimana died when his plane was shot down as it was landing in Kigali. It was never determined who was responsible but a widespread belief was that it was the Tutsi dominated party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). By the end of the genocide, it is estimated that between half a million and a million people had been killed, a large percentage of them Tutsis. The genocide left the country devastated. Infrastructure, the economy and families suffered. Millions of children were left orphaned. Most of the violence was centred in the capital city of Kigali.

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How we know this

  1. 01United Human Rights Council Genocide in Rwanda from United human Rights Council [online] Available at www.unitedhumanrights.org [Accessed: 20 March 2014]
  2. 02Modern History Project The Rwandan Genocide from Modern history Project [online] Available at modernhistoryproject2012 [Accessed: 20 March 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, April 13). Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0081846

South African History Online (2012) 'Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country', South African History Online, 13 April. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0081846 (Accessed: 11 August 2026).

South African History Online, Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0081846, (accessed 11 August 2026).

"Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country." South African History Online, 13 Apr. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0081846. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Ethnic violence in Rwandan capital Kigali is spreads throughout the country." South African History Online. April 13, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0081846.

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