Goma, Zaire
July 1994
Dead ethnic Rwandan Hutu civilians are dumped into a mass grave in Zaire.
Following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which Hutu militia groups and the Hutu lead Rwanda military, killed an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and sympathizers during a 100-day killing spree, 2 million ethnic Hutu’s, fearing reprisals, flee the country. The vast majority went to Goma, Zaire as tens of thousands died in epidemics of cholera and dysentery that swept the roadside crowds and refugee camps. People who had actively participated in the genocide hid among the refugees, fueling the First and Second Congo Wars.
The international community, and the United Nations in particular, drew severe criticism for its inaction in the wake of the Rwandan Genocide.