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On April 6, 1994, Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira were killed when their plane was shot down by a missile believed to have been launched by the Hutu military rulers. The killings of the Tutsi by the Hutu began half an hour later. Within 24 hours of Habyarimana's jet being shot down, roadblocks began to appear around Kigali, Rwanda's capital. The Tutsis were separated from the Hutus and were beaten to death with machetes, …

…increasingly convinced that the only way to ensure their survival is to repress the Hutus. Many Hutus believe they have been proclaimed guilty by association and that no one cares about their sufferings under the current Tutsi-led government. Extremists on both sides retain the belief that the only solution is the annihilation of the other. These groups are preparing for a future struggle, one that could include another wave of mass slaughter." (Prunier, "Rwanda's Struggle...")