Rwandan Genocide

Follow the story · Four stages

1. 01

   Background

   Colonial ethnic classification, post-independence exclusion, civil war, economic crisis, and backlash against peace negotiations created conditions for organized violence.

   • Colonial ethnic classification, post-independence exclusion, civil war, economic crisis, and backlash against peace negotiations created conditions for organized violence.
   • Core event: From April to July 1994, organized mass killing targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda until the Rwandan Patriotic Front stopped it by taking control of the country.
   • Connection to the next stage: After the 6 April 1994 plane assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana, extremist authorities, soldiers, and militias targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu and extended the killings through local networks.

   
2. 02

   Course

   After the 6 April 1994 plane assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana, extremist authorities, soldiers, and militias targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu and extended the killings through local networks.

   • After the 6 April 1994 plane assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana, extremist authorities, soldiers, and militias targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu and extended the killings through local networks.
   • Conditions behind the action: Colonial ethnic classification, post-independence exclusion, civil war, economic crisis, and backlash against peace negotiations created conditions for organized violence.
   • Meaning of the turning point: From April to July 1994, organized mass killing targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda until the Rwandan Patriotic Front stopped it by taking control of the country.

   
3. 03

   Outcome

   The Rwandan Patriotic Front captured major cities in July and stopped the genocide. About 800,000 people are generally estimated to have been killed, followed by mass displacement and a regional refugee crisis.

   • The Rwandan Patriotic Front captured major cities in July and stopped the genocide.
   • About 800,000 people are generally estimated to have been killed, followed by mass displacement and a regional refugee crisis.
   • Process producing the result: After the 6 April 1994 plane assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana, extremist authorities, soldiers, and militias targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu and extended the killings through local networks.

   
4. 04

   Historical significance

   The genocide was not a natural eruption of ancient ethnic hatred but a modern crisis in which institutions, political organization, propaganda, weapons, and international inaction converged.

   • The genocide was not a natural eruption of ancient ethnic hatred but a modern crisis in which institutions, political organization, propaganda, weapons, and international inaction converged.
   • Immediate consequence: The Rwandan Patriotic Front captured major cities in July and stopped the genocide. About 800,000 people are generally estimated to have been killed, followed by mass displacement and a regional refugee crisis.
   • Historical turning point: From April to July 1994, organized mass killing targeted Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda until the Rwandan Patriotic Front stopped it by taking control of the country.