During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed militias. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 662,000 Tutsi deaths.
632,900 TutsiThe death toll would be estimated at 632,900 Tutsi, a loss of about 80.8% of the Tutsi population in 1994.
A colonial legacy of division The Belgians viewed the Tutsi minority as superior, and favoured Tutsi for leadership positions. This favoritism created ongoing and deeper tensions between Hutu and Tutsi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, struggles for independence from Belgian rule gained strength in Rwanda.
Women were systematically and brutally raped. Sometimes, Tutsis were murdered or attacked by their neighbors. It is estimated that some 200,000 people participated in carrying out the genocide, though there were also people involved in the killing who also helped rescue or protect those targeted.