Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira
9XR-NN, the aircraft involved, seen in 1993 | |
| Shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 April 1994 |
| Summary | Shot down by surface-to-air missiles |
| Site |
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| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Dassault Falcon 50 |
| Registration | 9XR-NN |
| Flight origin | Dar es Salaam International Airport, Kipawa, Ilala, Tanzania |
| Stopover | Kigali International Airport, Kigali, Rwanda |
| Destination | Bujumbura International Airport, Bujumbura, Burundi |
| Occupants | 12 |
| Passengers | 9 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 12 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Part of a series on the |
| Rwandan genocide |
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|---|---|---|
1973–1994
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On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira, both Hutu, was shot down with surface-to-air missiles as their jet prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda; both were killed. The assassination set in motion the Rwandan genocide, one of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century.
Responsibility for the attack is disputed. Most theories propose as suspects either the Tutsi rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) or government-aligned Hutu Power followers opposed to negotiation with the RPF.