Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira

On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as their jet prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda. The assassination set in motion the Rwandan genocide, one of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century.

Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira

A Dassault Falcon 50 similar to the one involved in the assassination
Shootdown
Date	April 6, 1994; 28 years ago (1994-04-06)
Summary	Shot down by surface-to-air missiles
Site	Presidential Palace gardens, Kigali, Rwanda 1.9680°S 30.1394°E / -1.9680; 30.1394
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Dassault Falcon 50
Registration	9XR-NN
Flight origin	Dar es Salaam International Airport, Tanzania
Stopover	Kigali International Airport, Rwanda
Destination	Bujumbura International Airport, Burundi
Occupants	12
Passengers	9
Crew	3
Fatalities	12
Survivors	0

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 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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Responsibility for the attack is disputed, with most theories proposing as suspects either the Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) or government-aligned Hutu Power followers opposed to negotiation with the RPF.[1]