Nyarubuye massacre

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 Nyarubuye massacre is the name which is given to the killing of an estimated 20,000 civilians on April 15, 1994 at the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church^[1] in Kibungo Province, 140 km (87 mi) east of the Rwandan capital Kigali. The victims were Tutsis. Men, women, and children were reported to have been indiscriminately killed, with the attackers allegedly using spears, machetes, clubs, hand grenades and automatic weapons. Local Interahamwe, acting in concert with the authorities, used bulldozers to knock down the church building. The militia used machetes and rifles to kill every person who tried to escape.^[2]

The massacre was part of the April–July 1994 Rwandan genocide in which up to 1,000,000 people died.^[1]