The Rwandan genocide, was a mass slaughter of Tutsi in Rwanda during the Rwandan Civil War, which had started in 1990.

It was directed by members of the Hutu majority government during the 100-day period from 7 April to 15 July 1994. An estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, constituting an estimated 70% of the Tutsi population. An estimated 2,000,000 Rwandans, mostly Hutu, were displaced and became refugees.

On 6 April 1994, an aeroplane carrying Juvénal Habyarimana, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi, was shot down on its descent into Kigali. At the time, the plane was in the airspace above Habyarimana's house. The assassination of Habyarimana ended the peace accords. Genocidal killings began the following day. Soldiers, police, and militia quickly executed key Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders who could have assumed control in the ensuing power vacuum. Checkpoints and barricades were erected to screen all holders of the national ID card of Rwanda, which contained ethnic classifications.