Rwanda+History

**Rwanda history - Genocide time line **
1993/4 – President Habyarimana delays implementation of power sharing; training of interahamwe increases. The extremist Hutu radio station, starts broadcasting calls to attack Tutsis. 1994 – April; President Habyarimana restates his commitment to the Arusha Peace Accords. Extremist Hutus are alarmed by this development. 1994 – April 6th; President Habyarimana’s aeroplane is shot down. He and the President of neighbouring Burundi are killed. The blame is placed on the Tutsis. Massacres of Tutsis begin. 1994 – 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 ‘pangas’ – machete-like weapons. U.N. forces are forbidden to intervene, being only allowed to ‘monitor’ the situation. 1994 – April 21st – 10 Belgian soldiers are killed; the UN reduces its forces in the country from 2,500 to 250. 1994 – April 30th – the situation is debated in the United Nations Security Council. They refuse to declare it a ‘genocide’, which would mean they would be forced to intervene. 1994 – 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 “acts of genocide may have been committed.” 1994 – June 22nd; after an initial reluctance, led by the USA delegation, the UN agrees that the killing constitutes officially a ‘genocide’. No troops have arrived in Rwanda. French forces are to be despatched to the south west of Rwanda to create a ‘safe-haven’ (although killing will continue here, too). 1994 – July 17th; the RPF invasion troops reach the capital, Kigali. The massacres finally stop.

1993/4 – President Habyarimana delays implementation of power sharing; training of interahamwe increases. The extremist Hutu radio station, starts broadcasting calls to attack Tutsis. 1994 – April; President Habyarimana restates his commitment to the Arusha Peace Accords. Extremist Hutus are alarmed by this development. 1994 – April 6th; President Habyarimana’s aeroplane is shot down. He and the President of neighbouring Burundi are killed. The blame is placed on the Tutsis. Massacres of Tutsis begin. 1994 – 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 ‘pangas’ – machete-like weapons. U.N. forces are forbidden to intervene, being only allowed to ‘monitor’ the situation. 1994 – April 21st – 10 Belgian soldiers are killed; the UN reduces its forces in the country from 2,500 to 250. 1994 – April 30th – the situation is debated in the United Nations Security Council. They refuse to declare it a ‘genocide’, which would mean they would be forced to intervene. 1994 – 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 “acts of genocide may have been committed.” 1994 – June 22nd; after an initial reluctance, led by the USA delegation, the UN agrees that the killing constitutes officially a ‘genocide’. No troops have arrived in Rwanda. French forces are to be despatched to the south west of Rwanda to create a ‘safe-haven’ (although killing will continue here, too). 1994 – July 17th; the RPF invasion troops reach the capital, Kigali. The massacres finally stop.