Civil War: The 1994 Rwanda Genocide

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On April 7th, 1994 the civil war that started in 1990 in Rwanda reached a climax, when the plane of President Habyarimana was shot down (Corey & Joireman, 2004). Tensions between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus had been strained for decades, but Hutu extremists used this event as justification for initiating genocide against the Tutsi population of Rwanda (Corey & Joireman, 2004). Although the onset of the genocide was sudden, careful plans had been put into place over the course of the civil war (Corey & Joireman, 2004). Machetes were ordered, lists of enemies were compiled, and the media within the country began spreading propaganda against the Tutsi population (Corey & Joireman, 2004). At the urging of the current governing party, Hutus carried out a mass slaughter of the Tutsis within the country (Corey & Joireman, 2004). Using machetes as their primary weapon, a citizen militia called the Interhamwe erected roadblocks to weed out and kill Tutsis (Corey & Joireman, 2004). The Interhamwe went door to door, searching out Tutsis and any moderate Hutus who stood in their way or tried to protect Tutsis (Corey & Joireman, 2004). The genocide finally came to an end on July 4th 1994, after one hundred days of brutal violence (Corey & Joireman, 2004).

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