The Rwandan genocide started on 7 April 1994 , immediately following Habyarimana 's assassination . Armed Hutus were deployed throughout the countryside . They set up check points to cull fleeing Tutsis from the rest of the evacuating crowds . Hutus who refused to participate in the genocide were attacked . At night , the residents of Butare watched the firelight from the hills in the west , and could hear gunfire from nearby villages . When armed Hutus gathered at the edges of Butare , citizens of Butare defended its borders
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko