Rwanda's killing fields: 30th anniversary of genocide

This month, world remembers one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century

Skeletal remains at the Ntarama Catholic Church genocide memorial
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

What precipitated the genocide?

On 6 April 1994, a plane carrying Rwanda's president, Juvénal Habyarimana, as well as his counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi, was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. Within 30 minutes of the crash, roadblocks had been set up around the city to check identity cards (which listed people's ethnicity), and to kill those of Tutsi ethnicity on the spot. 

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