Rwanda base map 390

Rwandan Genocide Timeline

  • The President Is Killed

    The President Is Killed
    The President of Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, was a Hutu ruler who had come to powerthrough a peaceful overthrow of the government. On this day, his plane was shot down with a surface to air missile. The Hutus blamed it on the Tutsis and the killing started.
  • Period: to

    The Genocide

    These 100 days are some of the bloodiest in history. Hate, greed, and resentment fueled these people into openly killing their neighbors with no regret.
  • The Killing Starts

    The Killing Starts
    Hutu extremists then took to the streets and started killing all Tutsis and Hutus who sympathized them. The first targets were political leaders who could possibly take over power now that the President was dead. In this day alone, 8,000 people were killed.
  • Not In Church

    Not In Church
    This is the date of the Gikondo Massacre. Hundreds of people were killed in a Catholic church. This was the first sign of a genocide because only Tutsis were targeted.
  • The US Gets News

    The US Gets News
    The New York Times repoted on this day a horrific incident. 1,000 were mercilessly hacked to death in a local church. There was no discrimination; men, women, and children were all killed without a secod thoght. The killers didnt care how or where they did their buisness. Their hearts had become stone.
  • The Kibuye Massacres

    The Kibuye Massacres
    On this day is when the massacre at Gatwaro Stadium happened. This is where Immaculee's brother and his friend, Augustine, were hiding. All total, 12,000 people were killed in this stadium and there was no way to escape the carnage.
  • There Seems To Be No End

    There Seems To Be No End
    By this day it is estimated that 100,000 people have been killed. Also on this day, Human Rights Watch declared that the word "genocide" should be applied to this event.
  • Stop The Killings

    Stop The Killings
    On this day, the White House contacted top Hutu extremists and demanded that the killings be stopped. Of course, this did nothing to hinder the slaughters.
  • Running For Their Lives

    Running For Their Lives
    On this day and the next, over 250,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus fled to nearby Tanzania.Here they hoped to find safety but as they discovered, the refugee camps were not that much better than where they came from.
  • Watch Your Mouth

    Watch Your Mouth
    The US is careful not to use the word "genocide" in a press interview. They fear that if the word is used, the people will insist the government take action. The US want no part although that is one of their responsibities as a world power. Also the death toll reached 200,000 on this day.
  • No Way, Dallaire

    No Way, Dallaire
    The US rejected General Dallaire's request to use Pentagon jambing equipment to stop hate broadcasts. He hopes that this will calm down the Hutus. The US refused for the simple fact that they wanted to stay out of the situation. They tried to use other reasons to cover this up, as always.
  • We Authorize This Decision

    We Authorize This Decision
    The UN decided to give General Romeo Dallaire the troops he asked for almost a month ago. He asked for 5,000 troops to help secure Kilgali and surrounding areas. However, these troops did not arrive for almost a month and by this time, things were starting to wind down.
  • RPF Gains Ground

    RPF Gains Ground
    On this day, the RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) gained control of the Presidential palace. From here it was much easier to command all of the troops and it also meant that most of Kigali was under control and stable.
  • Help Has Arrived

    Help Has Arrived
    On this day, French froces moved into southwestern Rwanda.These were some of the tropps that ran the camp Immaculee stayed at for a period of time. The French arrived because the UN could not make a decision on how to collaborate forces, so in the end, France volunteered and sent some troops to help.
  • We Are Leaving

    We Are Leaving
    1,000,000 Hutus fled Rwanda on this day to spare themselves from possible counter-attacks. Around this time is when the killings started to slow down as extremists were fearing their own lives.
  • The End

    The End
    After 100 days of brutal bloodshed, the genocide comes to an end. All total, it is estimated that 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered. This averages out to around 8,000 people killed a day. This event will go down in history as one of the bloodiest time periods ever.