Initial events of the Rwandan genocide

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Human skulls at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre
Part of a series on the
Rwandan genocide
Background History of Rwanda Origins of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa Kingdom of Rwanda Rwandan Revolution Rwandan Civil War Hutu Power Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
Events Initial events Chronology Gikondo massacre Musha Church massacre Nyarubuye massacre
Parties responsible People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal Genocidaires Akazu Impuzamugambi militia Interahamwe militia Kangura RTLM radio
Response Rwandan Patriotic Front International community United Nations Mission UN Security Council Resolution 935 Opération "Turquoise"
Aftermath Great Lakes refugee crisis Gacaca court First Congo War (Massacres of Hutus) Second Congo War
Resources Bibliography Filmography
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The assassination of presidents Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira in the evening of April 6, 1994 was the proximate trigger for the Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the murder of approximately 800,000 Tutsi and a smaller number of moderate Hutu. The first few days following the assassinations included a number of key events that shaped the subsequent course of the genocide. These included: the seizing of power by an interim government directed by the hard-line Akazu clique; the liquidation of opposition Hutu politicians; the implementation of plans to carry out a genocide throughout the country; and the murder of United Nations peacekeepers, contributing to the impulse of the international community to refrain from intervention.