Rwanda finds mass graves that could contain 30,000 bodies, 26 years after genocide

The discovery comes more than a quarter century after Rwanda witnessed the genocide in which over 8,00,000 people, mostly from the ethnic Tutsi community, died.

File photo of Rwanda's capital Kigali | Commons

New Delhi: Authorities in Rwanda have found skeletal remains in a valley dam which they say could contain over 30,000 bodies. The discovery comes a quarter century after the country witnessed a genocide that resulted in the death of over 8,00,000 Rwandans, mostly from the ethnic Tutsi community.

Rwanda Tuesday marked the 26th anniversary of the genocide.

So far, 50 bodies have been recovered from the valley dam located outside Rwanda’s capital Kigali. The efforts of the authorities have been challenged by the coronavirus-led lockdown in the country.

Naphtal Ahishakiye, executed secretary of Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivor associations, told The Associated Press: “The challenge we face now is that the valley dam contains water, but we are trying to dry it up.”

Speaking about exhuming bodies during a pandemic, Ahishakiye added: “But we try our best so that we give the dead a decent burial.”

Word about the remains has come when many people convicted in the genocide are being released from prison after serving their sentences and offering new information on mass graves. Other information about the dam had come from residents living near it.

Authorities have claimed that the dam was dug up years before the genocide and used to provide water for rice farming.

The genocide

From April 1994 to June 1994, over 8,00,000 Rwandans were killed in a span of 10 days. Most of those killed were from the Tutsi community. Hutu extremists are said to have perpetrated the violence against the Tutsis. Among the dead were many Hutu moderates also who had tried to the save the Tutsis.

The genocide was triggered by the death of former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu. His plane was shot down above the Kigali airport on 6 April 1994.

A French judge had then held current Rwandan President Paul Kagame responsible for this attack. Kagame at the time was the leader of a Tutsi rebel group.

He had denied these allegations and said the attack was the work of Hutu extremists. Within hours, however, violence had spread from the capital city to across the country and it lasted for over three months.