In the 1980s , a group of 500 Banyarwanda refugees in Uganda , led by Fred Rwigyema , fought with the rebel National Resistance Army ( NRA ) in the Ugandan Bush War , which saw Yoweri Museveni overthrow Milton Obote . These soldiers remained in the Ugandan army following Museveni 's inauguration as Ugandan president , but simultaneously began planning an invasion of Rwanda through a covert network within the army 's ranks . In 1990 , the soldiers broke ranks and launched an invasion of northern Rwanda as the Rwandan Patriotic Front ( RPF ) , initiating the Rwandan Civil War ; neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage , and in 1993 the Rwandan government and the RPF signed a cease-fire . This ended on 6 April 1994 when President Habyarimana 's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport , killing him . The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide , which began within a few hours . Over the course of approximately 100 days , between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government . Many Twa were also killed , despite not being directly targeted . The RPF restarted their offensive , and took control of the country methodically , gaining control of the whole country by mid-July
President Habyarimana 's plane was shot down
Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira
Banyarwanda