The 1994 genocide started when the aeroplane of Hutu Rwandan dictator JuvÃ nal Habyarimana was shot down on the night of April 6th . On April 6 , 1994 , the airplane carrying Rwandan President JuvÃ nal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira , the Hutu president of Burundi , was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali .