The
Rwandan Genocide was a
genocidal mass slaughter of
Tutsi and moderate
Hutu in
Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority. During the approximate 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, constituting as much as 70% of the Tutsi and 20% of Rwanda's total population. The genocide was planned by members of the core political elite known as the
akazu, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government. Perpetrators came from the ranks of the Rwandan army, the National Police (
gendarmerie), government-backed militias including the
Interahamwe and
Impuzamugambi, and the Hutu civilian population.