List of massacres in Rwanda


This is a list of massacres that have occurred in Rwanda in chronological order.

List of massacres

NameDateDeathsInvolvedLocation – Circumstances
Bugesera invasion also known as the Bloody ChristmasDecember 21-27 196310,000-20,000Various locations – Reprisals for attack by exiled Tutsis
5% of Tutsis in Rwanda killed
1991 Bagogwe massacreJanuary-March 1991300HutuNorthwest Rwanda – Reprisal for RPF offensive
Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira6 April 199412Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front or government-aligned Hutu Power followers Kigali – 12 people, including Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira were killed when their airplane was shot down. The shootdown was the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide7 April15 July 1994500,000–1,000,000
Various locations – 70% of Tutsis exterminated, 30% of Twa killed
Musha Church massacre13 April 19941,180-1,200Interahamwe Rutoma sector, Gikoro commune, Kigali – Part of the Rwandan genocide
Murambi Technical School massacreApril 18 – 21, 19945,000–20,000Interahamwe Murambi Technical School – Part of the Rwandan genocide.
Ntarama Massacre15 April 19945,000Police, soldiers, interahamwe and local volunteersNtarama church, Ntarama – Part of the Rwandan genocide.
Nyarubuye massacreApril 15-16, 199420,000Interahamwe Kibungo Province – Part of the Rwandan genocide.
Kibeho MassacreApril 22, 19954000+Rwandan Patriotic ArmyNear KibehoRwandan government estimated death toll at 330
Gikondo massacreApril 9, 1994110Interahamwe militia under supervision of the Hutu presidential guardGikondo, Kigali – part of the Rwandan genocide.
Nyakimana cave massacreOctober 23-October 28,19975,000-8,000RPFGisenyi Province – RPF bombing of alleged Hutu displaced persons
Mudende camp massacreDecember 10, 1997231-300HutuNorthwest Rwanda – Hutu guerilla attack on Tutsi refugee camp