Chronological Index:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

 The Assassination (April 6, 1994)

1994; April 6: At 10:22 PM, the Falcon Mystère presidential airplane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, the Burundian President, Cyprien Ntaryamira, the Burundian government Ministers Bernard Ciza and Cyriaque Simbizi, Major-General Déogratias Nsabimana (the RAF Chief of Staff), Major Thadée Bagaragaza, Juvénal Renzaho (Habyarimana’s counselor), and Doctor Emmanuel Akingeneye (Habyarimana’s personal physician) was shot down shortly before it was due to land in Kigali. Colonel Elie Sagatwa, a prominent member of the Akazu , the non-official head of the presidential guard and Juvénal Habyarimana’s brother-in-law, was also on board the aircraft. The twelve passengers, including three French crew members (pilot Jacky Héraud, co-pilot Jean-Pierre Minoberry and navigator Jean-Michel Perrine) were killed **(Reyntjens, 1995: 21; Eltringham, 2004: 111). Several hypotheses have been put forward concerning the identity of the perpetrators of the attack. The main factions mentioned in these theories are:

 radicals from Juvénal Habyarimana’s regime and the Army, with or without backing from French soldiers *(Reyntjens, 1995: 20-32);

 the non-Power factions of the MRND’s internal opposition – with or without support from the RPF – attempting a pro-democracy coup d’État *(Reyntjens, 1995: 33-38);

 the RPF, with or without assistance from members of the Belgian Army *(Reyntjens, 1995: 38-44).

At 9:00 PM, a meeting took place at the Rwandan Army headquarters. It was attended by the main Army officers and chaired by Théoneste Bagosora (who was Chief of Staff at the Defense Ministry). During the meeting, which General Dallaire joined at around 10:00 PM, Théoneste Bagosora put himself forward as the strongman in the crisis, but was unable to obtain the transfer of power to the Army, or to have one of his allies appointed Chief of Staff **(Braud, 2005: 443; Reyntjens, 1995: 52-53). This position was given to Colonel Marcel Gatsinzi, who was isolated from an institutional point of view, and was not in Kigali at the time.

Immediately after the attack, sporadic gunfire was heard in the nearby military camp of Kanombe. The residents of Masaka Hill, from where the missiles had been fired, were shot *(HRW, 1999: 215-217). The MRND leaders and their families were evacuated to a military camp, and Faustin Twagiramungu to the UNAMIR headquarters. Many political followers of Habyarimana, as well as certain opposition leaders, took refuge inside the French embassy **(HRW, 1999: 220-221; Reyntjens, 1995: 63). Roadblocks were established in Kigali within an hour of the attack; Interahamwe patrols moved around the city, which the Army had closed off **(HRW, 1999: 221; Guichaoua, 1995: 523).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41