View source for Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira

{{Short description|1994 aircraft shootdown in Kigali, Rwanda}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Shootdown
| name            = Assassination of Habyarimana and Ntaryamira
| image           = Armee de l'Air - Dassault Falcon 50.jpg
| caption         = A [[Dassault Falcon 50]] similar to the one involved in the assassination
| date            = {{Start date and age|1994|04|06}}
| type            = Shot down by [[surface-to-air]] missiles
| site            = Presidential Palace gardens, near [[Kigali International Airport]], [[Kigali]], Rwanda
| coords          =
| aircraft_type   = [[Dassault Falcon 50]]
| aircraft_name   =
| operator        =
| coordinates     = {{coord|-1.9680|30.1394|region:RW-01_type:event|display=title,inline}}
| tail_number     = 9XR-NN
| 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
}}
{{Rwandan genocide}}
{{Juvénal Habyarimana sidebar}}
On the evening of 6 April 1994, the aircraft carrying [[Rwanda]]n [[List of presidents of Rwanda|president]] [[Juvénal Habyarimana]] and [[Burundi]]an [[President of Burundi|president]] [[Cyprien Ntaryamira]], both [[Hutu]], was shot down with [[surface-to-air missile]]s 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, with most theories proposing as suspects either the [[Tutsi]] rebel [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] (RPF) or government-aligned [[Hutu Power]] followers opposed to negotiation with the RPF.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-11-29 |title=Rwanda's mystery that won't go away |first=Mark |last=Doyle |author-link=Mark Doyle (journalist) |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6196226.stm |access-date=2021-03-26}}</ref>
== Background  ==
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Juvénal Habyarimana (1980).jpg
| caption1          = Rwandan President [[Juvénal Habyarimana]] in 1980
| width1            = 125
| image2            = Cyprien Ntaryamira at a FRODEBU rally (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = Burundian President [[Cyprien Ntaryamira]] in 1993
| width2            = 115
| align             = left
}}
In 1990, the [[Rwandan Civil War]] began when the [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]], dominated by the [[Tutsi]] ethnic group, invaded northern Rwanda from [[Uganda]]. Most of the RPF fighters were either [[refugee]]s or the sons of refugees who had fled ethnic purges by the Hutu government during the [[Rwandan revolution]]. The attempt to overthrow the government failed, though the RPF was able to maintain control of a border region.<ref>Mamdani, p. 186</ref> As it became clear that the war had reached a stalemate, the sides began peace negotiations in May 1992, which resulted in the signing in August 1993 of the [[Arusha Accords (Rwanda)|Arusha Accords]] to create a power-sharing government.<ref>Melvern, pp. 36–37</ref>
The war radicalized the internal opposition. The RPF's show of force intensified support for the so-called "[[Hutu Power]]" ideology. Hutu Power portrayed the RPF as an alien force intent on reinstating the [[Kingdom of Rwanda|Tutsi monarchy]] and enslaving the Hutus, a prospect which must be resisted at all costs.<ref>Mamdani, pp. 189–191</ref> This ideology was embraced most wholeheartedly by the [[Coalition for the Defense of the Republic]] (CDR) who advocated racist principles known as the [[Hutu Ten Commandments]]. This political force led to the collapse of the first Habyarimana government in July 1993, when Prime Minister [[Dismas Nsengiyaremye]] criticized the president in writing for delaying a peace agreement. Habyarimana, a member of the [[Mouvement républicain national pour la démocratie et le développement|MRND]] political party, dismissed Nsengiyarmye and appointed [[Agathe Uwilingiyimana]], who was perceived to be less sympathetic to the RPF, in his stead. The main opposition parties refused to support Madame Agathe's appointment, each splitting into two factions: one calling for the unwavering defense of Hutu Power and the other, labeled "moderate", that sought a negotiated settlement to the war. As Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana was unable to form a coalition government, ratification of the Arusha Accords was impossible. The most extreme of the Hutu parties, the CDR, which openly called for [[ethnic cleansing]] of the Tutsi, was entirely unrepresented in the Accords.<ref>Mamdani, pp. 211–212</ref>
The security situation deteriorated throughout 1993. Armed Hutu militias attacked Tutsis throughout the country, while high-ranking adherents of Hutu Power began to consider how the security forces might be turned to [[genocide]].<ref>Melvern, pp. 45–46</ref> In February 1994, [[Roméo Dallaire]], the head of the military force attached to the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] (UNAMIR), which had been sent to observe the implementation of the Arusha Accords, informed his superiors, "Time does seem to be running out for political discussions, as any spark on the security side could have catastrophic consequences."<ref name="independent">[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/RwandaReport3.htm#January%20Cable "Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the UN during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060416080402/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/RwandaReport3.htm#January%20Cable|date=16 April 2006}}, [[United Nations]] (hosted by ess.uwe.ac.uk). For the slow connection to the copy hosted by un.org, see here [http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/395/47/IMG/N9939547.pdf?OpenElement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225145346/http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/395/47/IMG/N9939547.pdf?OpenElement|date=25 February 2007}}</ref>
In the [[United Nations Security Council]], early April 1994 saw a sharp disagreement between the United States and the non-permanent members of the council over UNAMIR. Despite a classified February [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) analysis predicting half a million deaths if the Arusha process failed,<ref>Melvern, p. 128</ref> the U.S. was attempting to reduce its international commitments in the wake of the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Somalia debacle]] and lobbied to end the mission. A compromise extending UNAMIR's mandate for three more months was finally reached on the evening of Tuesday, the fifth of April. Meanwhile, Habyarimana was finishing regional travel. On 4 April, he had flown to [[Zaire]] to meet with president [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] and on 6 April flew to [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]] for a one-day regional summit for heads of state convened by Tanzanian President [[Ali Hassan Mwinyi]].<ref>Melvern, pp. 128–131</ref> For the return trip, Habyarimana offered to take Saleh Tambwe, Tanzania's Ambassador to Rwanda, with him back to Rwanda. He then extended the offer to President of Burundi [[Cyprien Ntaryamira]]. Ntaryamira accepted,<ref name= mosenda>{{cite news| last = Mosenda| first = Jacob| title = Mwinyi's account on the Rwanda genocide shock| newspaper = The Citizen| date = 16 May 2021| url = https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/mwinyi-s-account-on-the-rwanda-genocide-shock-3402136| access-date = 20 May 2021| archive-date = 20 May 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210520230556/https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/mwinyi-s-account-on-the-rwanda-genocide-shock-3402136| url-status = dead}}</ref> preferring Habyarimana's faster [[Dassault Falcon 50]] to his own transport. Several Burundian ministers joined the president on the flight.<ref>Melvern, p. 142</ref> As a result of this new arrangement, Tambwe was not brought onboard to make room for the Burundian entourage.<ref name= mosenda/>
According to interim Prime Minister [[Jean Kambanda]]'s testimony to the [[International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda]] (ICTR), President [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Mobutu]] of neighboring [[Zaire]] (now DRC) had warned Habyarimana not to go to Dar es Salaam on 6 April. Mobutu reportedly said this warning had come from a very senior official in the Élysée Palace in Paris. There was a link between this warning, said Mobutu, and the subsequent suicide in the Élysée of [[François de Grossouvre]], a senior high-ranking official who was working for President [[François Mitterrand]] and who killed himself on 7 April after learning about the downing of the Falcon.<ref>Melvern, Linda: "[http://www.genocide-watch.com/images/Rwanda-27-Nov-06-Expert_refutes_Bruguiere_claims_that_RPF_shot_down_Rwandan_Presidents_aircraft_in_1994.pdf Expert Refutes Bruguière Claims that RPF Shot Down Rwandan President's Aircraft in 1994.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227111941/http://www.genocide-watch.com/images/Rwanda-27-Nov-06-Expert_refutes_Bruguiere_claims_that_RPF_shot_down_Rwandan_Presidents_aircraft_in_1994.pdf|date=December 27, 2021 }}" ''The New Times.'' 27 November 2006.</ref>
== Missile attack ==
Shortly before 8:20&nbsp;pm local time (18:20&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]), the presidential jet circled once around [[Kigali International Airport]] before coming in for [[Final approach (aviation)|final approach]] in clear skies.<ref name=Melvern133>Melvern, p. 133</ref> A weekly flight by a Belgian [[C-130 Hercules]] carrying UNAMIR troops returning from leave had been scheduled to land before the presidential jet, but was waved off to give the president priority.<ref name=Dallaire228>Dallaire & Beardsley, pp. 228</ref>
A [[surface-to-air missile]] struck one of the wings of the Dassault Falcon, then a second missile hit its tail. The plane erupted into flames in mid-air before crashing into the garden of the presidential palace, exploding on impact.<ref name=Melvern133/><ref>{{cite web |title=Aircraft accident Dassault Falcon 50 9XR-NN Kigali |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940406-1 |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914000007/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940406-1 |archive-date=14 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The plane carried three French crew and nine passengers.<ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940406-1 Criminal Occurrence description], [[Aviation Safety Network]]</ref>
The attack was witnessed by numerous people. One of two Belgian officers in the garden of a house in [[Kicukiro District#Sectors|Kanombe]], the district in which the airport is located, saw and heard the first missile climb into the sky, saw a red flash in the sky and heard an aircraft engine stopping, followed by another missile. He immediately called Major de Saint-Quentin, part of the French team attached to the Rwandan para-commando battalion [[Commando Parachute Group|Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur]], who advised him to organize protection for his Belgian comrades. Similarly, another Belgian officer stationed in an unused airport [[control tower]] saw the lights of an approaching aircraft, a light traveling upward from the ground and the aircraft lights going out. This was followed by a second light rising from the same place as the first and the plane turning into a falling ball of fire. This officer immediately radioed his company commander, who confirmed with the operational control tower that the plane was the presidential aircraft.<ref>Melvern, pp. 133–134</ref>
A Rwandan soldier in the military camp in Kanombe recalled:
<blockquote>You know, its engine sound was different from other planes; that is, the president's engine's sound ... We were looking towards where the plane was coming from, and we saw a projectile and we saw a ball of flame or flash and we saw the plane go down; and I saw it. I was the leader of the bloc so I asked the soldiers to get up and I told them "Get up because Kinani [a [[Kinyarwanda]] nickname for Habyarimana meaning 'famous' or 'invincible'] has been shot down." They told me, "You are lying." I said, "It's true." So I opened my wardrobe, I put on my uniform and I heard the bugle sound.<ref name=Melvern135>Melvern, p. 135</ref></blockquote>
A Rwandan officer cadet at the airport who was listening to the [[Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines]] heard the announcer state that the presidential jet was coming in to land. The spoken broadcast stopped suddenly in favor of a selection of [[classical music]].<ref name=Melvern134>Melvern, p. 134</ref>
=== Victims ===
All twelve aboard the Falcon were killed. They were:<ref name=French1998>[http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dossiers/rwanda/r1271.asp#P3515_490312 Report of the Information Mission on Rwanda], Section 4: L'Attentat du 6 Avril 1994 Contre L'Avion du Président Juvénal Habyarimana, 15 December 1998{{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name=Grande>{{cite web|url= http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/rwanda/PDF/rwanda.pdf |title=Report|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630230342/http://www.lexpress.fr/info/monde/dossier/rwanda/PDF/rwanda.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2007 }}&nbsp;{{small|(1.01&nbsp;MB)}} by [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]], Paris Court of Serious Claims (''[[Justice in France|Tribunal de Grande Instance]]''), 17 November 2006, p. 1 (hosted by lexpress.fr) {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
* [[Juvénal Habyarimana]], President of Rwanda
* [[Cyprien Ntaryamira]], President of Burundi
* [[Bernard Ciza]], Burundian Minister of Public Works
* [[Cyriaque Simbizi]], Burundian Minister of Communication
* Major General [[Déogratias Nsabimana]], Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army
* Major Thaddée Bagaragaza, responsible for the "maison militaire" of the Rwandan president
* Colonel Elie Sagatwa, Member of the special secretariat of the Rwandan president, Chief of the Military Cabinet of the Rwandan president
* Juvénal Renzaho, foreign affairs advisor to the Rwandan president
* Dr. Emmanuel Akingeneye, personal physician to the Rwandan president
French aircraft crew:
* Jacky Héraud (pilot)
* Jean-Pierre Minaberry (co-pilot)
* Jean-Michel Perrine (flight engineer)
== Immediate reaction ==
=== Rwanda ===
{{Main|Initial events of the Rwandan genocide|Rwandan genocide}}
Chaos ensued on the ground. Presidential Guards, who had been waiting to escort the president home from the airport, threatened people with their weapons. Twenty Belgian peacekeepers who had been stationed along the perimeter of the airport were surrounded by the Presidential Guard and some were disarmed.<ref name=Melvern134/> The airport was closed and the circling Belgian Hercules was diverted to [[Nairobi]].<ref name=Dallaire228/>
In Camp Kanombe the bugle call immediately after the crash was taken by soldiers to mean that the [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] had attacked the camp. The soldiers rushed to their units' armories to equip themselves. Soldiers of the paracommando brigade [[Commando Parachute Group|Commandos de recherche et d'action en profondeur]] assembled on the parade ground at around 9:00&nbsp;pm while members of other units gathered elsewhere in the camp.<ref name="Melvern, pp. 135-136">Melvern, pp. 135–136</ref> At least one witness stated that about an hour after the crash there was the sound of gunfire in Kanombe. Munitions explosions at Camp Kanombe were also initially reported.<ref name=Melvern134/>
The senior officer for the Kigali operational zone called the Ministry of Defence with the news. Defence Minister [[Augustin Bizimana]] was out of the country, and the officer who took the call failed to reach Colonel [[Théoneste Bagosora]], the director of the office of the minister of defence, who was apparently at a reception given by UNAMIR's [[Bangladesh]]i officers.<ref name=Melvern134/>
The news of the crash, initially reported as an explosion of UNAMIR's ammunition dump, was quickly relayed to UNAMIR Force Commander Dallaire. He ordered UNAMIR Kigali sector commander [[Luc Marchal]] to send a patrol to the crash site.<ref name=Dallaire221>Dallaire & Beardsley, p. 221</ref> Numerous people began calling UNAMIR seeking information, including Prime Minister [[Agathe Uwilingiyimana]] and [[Lando Ndasingwa]]. Uwilingiyimana informed Dallaire that she was trying to gather her cabinet but many ministers were afraid to leave their families. She also reported that all of the hardline ministers had disappeared. Dallaire asked the prime minister if she could confirm that it was the president's plane that had crashed, and called UNAMIR political head [[Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh]] to inform him of developments. Uwilingiyimana called back to confirm that it was the president's jet and he was presumed to be on board. She also asked for UNAMIR help in regaining control of the political situation, as she was legally next in the line of succession, but some moderate ministers allied to her had already begun fleeing their homes, fearing for their safety.<ref>Dallaire & Beardsley, pp. 221–222</ref>
At 9:18&nbsp;pm, Presidential Guards whom a UNAMIR report described as "nervous and dangerous" established a roadblock near the Hotel Méridien. Several other roadblocks had been set up prior to the attack as part of security preparations for Habyarimana's arrival.<ref>Melvern, pp. 134–135</ref> The patrol of UNAMIR Belgian soldiers sent to investigate the crash site was stopped at a Presidential Guards roadblock at 9:35&nbsp;pm, disarmed and sent to the airport.<ref name=Melvern135/>
The para-commando brigade was ordered to collect bodies from the crash site and UN peacekeepers were prevented from accessing the site.<ref name="Melvern">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/10/rwanda-at-last-we-know-truth?newsfeed=true | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Linda | last=Melvern | title=Rwanda: at last we know the truth | date=10 January 2012}}</ref> Akingeneye was quickly recovered, but most of the corpses were damaged beyond immediate recognition. Habyarimana was identified lying in a flowerbed at about 21:30 on 6 April, while Ntaryamira was recognised at about 03:00 on 7 April. One Rwandan advisor was identified after his wife told the search party what clothes he had been wearing. The last to be identified were those of the French aircrew, discovered at dawn outside of the palace gardens. The bodies were taken into the Presidential Palace living room. Plans were initially made to take them to the hospital, but the renewal of conflict made this difficult and instead the two presidents' bodies were stored in a freezer at a nearby army barracks.{{sfn|Gaillard|Barrada|1994|pp=14, 17}} Two French soldiers arrived at the crash and asked to be given the [[flight data recorder]] once it was recovered.<ref name="Melvern, pp. 135-136"/> The whereabouts of the flight data recorder were later unknown. The French military contacted Dallaire and offered to investigate the crash, which Dallaire refused immediately.<ref name="Melvern"/>
A Rwandan colonel who called the army command about 40 minutes after the crash was told that there was no confirmation that the president was dead. About half an hour later, roughly 9:30, the situation was still confused at army command, though it appeared clear that the presidential aircraft had exploded and that it had probably been hit by a missile. News arrived that Major-General [[Déogratias Nsabimana]], the army chief of staff, had been on the plane. The officers present realized that they would have to appoint a new chief of staff in order to clarify the [[chain of command]] and began a meeting to decide whom to appoint. Col. Bagosora joined them soon afterward.<ref>Melvern, p. 136</ref> At about 10:00&nbsp;pm, Ephrem Rwabalinda, the government liaison officer to UNAMIR, called Dallaire to inform him that a crisis committee was about to meet. After informing his superiors in [[New York City]] of the situation, Dallaire went to attend the meeting, where he found Bagosora in charge.<ref>Dallaire & Beardsley, p. 222</ref>
=== Burundi ===
Observers feared that President Ntaryamira's death would lead to widespread violence in Burundi, as [[1993 ethnic violence in Burundi|had happened]] when his predecessor, [[Melchior Ndadaye]], was assassinated during [[1993 Burundian coup d'état attempt|a coup attempt]] in October 1993.<ref>{{cite news| title = Burundi and Rwanda: Joined in death| newspaper = The Economist| pages = 46–47| volume = 331| issue = 7858| date = April 9, 1994}}</ref> However, unlike in Rwanda, the situation in Burundi remained peaceful after word was received of its president's death. The Burundian government declared that the plane crash was caused by an accident<ref name= thousands/> and President of the National Assembly [[Sylvestre Ntibantunganya]] made a broadcast on television, flanked by the minister of defence and the army chief of staff, appealing for calm. Several hundred Tutsis marched through the capital to celebrate the deaths of the presidents.<ref>{{cite news| last = Lamb| first = David| title = Burundi Teeters Between Peace, Renewed Killing Africa| newspaper = Los Angeles Times| page = 10| date = 4 June 1994}}</ref> Diplomats reported that most Burundians believed that the assassination was meant to target Habyarimana, not Ntaryamira.<ref>{{cite news| last = Lorch| first = Donatella| title = Specter of Hate Stalks Burundi, Too: Tutsi soldiers and armed Hutu rebels mimic Rwandans.| newspaper = The New York Times| page = A9| date = 26 April 1994}}</ref> On 16 April a requiem mass was held for Ntaryamira at the [[Regina Mundi Cathedral, Bujumbura|Regina Mundi Cathedral]] in Bujumbura, attended by thousands of people,<ref name= thousands>{{cite news| title = Thousands of people jam cathedral for funeral of Burundi president| newspaper = Austin American-Statesman| page = A12| edition= final| date = 17 April 1994}}</ref> and he and his two ministers were subsequently buried in a [[state funeral]].<ref>{{cite news| title = It is like the mayhem has gathered pace...' : Rwandan army killing, raping and looting| newspaper = The Kingston Whig-Standard| agency = Reuters| page = 13| date = 18 April 1994}}</ref> Ntibantunganya succeeded Ntaryamira as President of Burundi. He believed that Ntaryamira's death was "by the facts of circumstance" and that he was not targeted.<ref name= renouveau/>
=== International ===
In response to the assassination, President Mwinyi declared three days of national mourning in Tanzania and sent messages of condolence to the Rwandan government, Burundian government, and the deceased presidents' families. He wrote in his memoirs that the Tanzanian government was "shocked" by the downing of the plane. A group of about 70 Rwandans and Burundians at the New Mwanza Hotel celebrated the assassination, leading Prime Minister [[John Malecela]] to order their arrest. This action was countermanded by the attorney general, who stated that their actions were not illegal.<ref name= mosenda/>
A mourning period was also set up in [[Zaire]]<ref>https://francegenocidetutsi.org/1994-04-09ReutersZaireholdsmassforRwandavictims.pdf</ref>
President of the UN Security Council Colin Keating appealed for peace in Rwanda and Burundi and sent condolences to the families of the late presidents.<ref>{{cite news| last = Lewis| first = Paul | title = 2 Africa Leaders Die, U.N. Says; Rocket May Have Downed Plane| newspaper = The New York Times| page = A1| date = 7 April 1994}}</ref>
== Aftermath ==
At some point following the 6 April assassination, Juvenal Habyarimana's remains were obtained by president [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Mobutu]] of Zaire and stored in a private mausoleum in [[Gbadolite]], [[Zaire]] (now [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]). Mobutu promised Habyarimana's family that his body would eventually be given a proper burial in Rwanda. On 12 May 1997, as [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]]'s [[Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo|ADFL]] rebels were advancing on Gbadolite, Mobutu had the remains flown by cargo plane to [[Kinshasa]] where they waited on the tarmac of [[N'djili Airport]] for three days. On 16 May, the day before Mobutu fled Zaire, Habyarimana's remains were cremated under the supervision of an Indian [[Hindu]] leader. The Hindu leader's presence reflected the need to cremate the body and Mobutu's insistence some form of religious ceremony was performed rather than Habyarimana's own religion.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/16/world/ending-a-chapter-mobutu-cremates-rwanda-ally.html Ending a Chapter, Mobutu Cremates Rwanda Ally] by Howard W. French. ''New York Times''. 16 May 1997.</ref>
== Investigations ==
=== Launch site ===
[[File:Assasination of Habyarimana map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the airport and its surroundings|alt=Map of the airport and its surroundings.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Filip Reyntjens |title=Retour sur l'attentat de Kigali, l'étincelle qui a allumé le feu du génocide |journal=Institute of Development Policy and Management |date=September 2020 |url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/iob/wpaper/2020.04.html |format=PDF}}</ref>]]
Two prominent investigations, which have been internationally recognized, have identified the Kanombe barracks as the likely source of the missile. In 2010, the "Mutsinzi Report" carried out by Rwandan officials in collaboration with British ballistics experts from the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|Royal Military Academy]], identified a small area, which included a portion of the airport, the Kanombe camp, and a small area near the presidential residence, as the launch site.<ref>REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ATTACK OF 06/04/1994 AGAINST THE FALCON 50 RWANDAN PRESIDENTIAL AEROPLANE, REGISTRATION NUMBER 9XR-NN (2010). available at: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/125423/1036_FalconReport.pdf</ref> In January 2012, a French report was made public with similar findings.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris|date=5 January 2012|title=Rapport d'expertise. Destruction en vol du Falcon 50 Kigali|url=http://francegenocidetutsi.org/rapport-balstique-attentat-contre-habyarimana-6-4-1994.pdf|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Epstein" /><ref>{{cite web|date=10 January 2012|title=French Judges release report on the plane crash used as a pretext to start genocide in Rwanda|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/french-judges-release-report-on-the-plane-crash-used-as-a-pretext-to-start-genocide-in-rwanda-137024038.html|access-date=15 April 2018|publisher=Government of Rwanda}}</ref>
Despite these reports, some have continued to cast doubt on this conclusion. These uncertainties stem from immediate assessments of the situation. French Judge [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]] had led an inquiry in 2004 which accused the RPF of shooting down the plane from Masaka Hill, but it was found to be based on the testimonies of witnesses who were not regarded as credible.<ref>Melvern, p. 98.</ref> A Belgian inquiry in 1994 concluded that the missile had been fired from Masaka Hill, but that "it would have been virtually impossible for a rebel soldier to have reached Masaka carrying missiles."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/12/world/unsolved-rwanda-mystery-the-president-s-plane-crash.html |title=Unsolved Rwanda Mystery: The President's Plane Crash |last=Bonner |first=Raymond |date=12 November 1994 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The base was controlled by FAR forces, including the Presidential Guard<ref name="Melvern" /> and the para-commando battalion, and the AntiAircraft Battalion (LAA) were also based there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sweden.embassy.gov.rw/content/view/287/98/lang,english/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209100104/http://sweden.embassy.gov.rw/content/view/287/98/lang,english/ |archive-date=9 December 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This report was widely reported to exonerate the RPF,<ref name="Epstein">{{cite news|last1=Epstein|first1=Helen C.|title=America's secret role in the Rwandan genocide|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/12/americas-secret-role-in-the-rwandan-genocide|work=The Guardian|date=12 September 2017}}</ref> although it did not actually do that, according to [[Filip Reyntjens]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Reyntjens|first1=Filip|title=Rwanda's Untold Story. A reply to "38 scholars, scientists, researchers, journalists and historians"|url=http://africanarguments.org/2014/10/21/rwandas-untold-story-a-reply-to-38-scholars-scientists-researchers-journalists-and-historians-by-filip-reyntjens/|website=African Arguments|date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
=== Responsibility ===
While initial suspicion fell upon the Hutu extremists who carried out the subsequent genocide, there have been several reports since 2000 stating that the attack was carried out by the RPF on the orders of [[Paul Kagame]], who went on to become president of Rwanda. All such evidence is heavily disputed and many academics, as well as the [[United Nations]], have refrained from issuing a definitive finding. [[Mark Doyle (journalist)|Mark Doyle]], a [[BBC News]] correspondent who reported from Kigali through the 1994 genocide, noted in 2006 that the identities of the assassins "could turn out to be one of the great mysteries of the late 20th century."<ref name=BBC>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6196226.stm "Rwanda's mystery that won't go away"] by Mark Doyle, ''[[BBC News]]'', 29 November 2006</ref>
A now-declassified [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]] intelligence report from 7 April 1994 reports an unidentified source telling the US ambassador in Rwanda that "rogue Hutu elements of the military—possibly the elite presidential guard—were responsible for shooting down the plane."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB119/Rw4.pdf |title=Rwanda/Burundi: Turmoil in Rwanda }}&nbsp;{{small|(101&nbsp;KB)}}, U.S. Department of State's Spot Intelligence Report as of 08:45 EDT, 7 April 1994, hosted by [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB119/index.htm "The U.S. and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994: The Assassination of the Presidents and the Beginning of the 'Apocalypse'"] by William Ferroggiaro, [[National Security Archive]] (7 April 2004)</ref> This conclusion was supported by other U.S. agencies, including the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]],<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2004/03/mil-040330-2ee84303.htm Pentagon/Rwanda genocide], '', [[Voice of America]]'' broadcast on 30 March 2004 (transcript hosted by GlobalSecurity.org)</ref> which reported on 9 May that "It is believed that the plane crash [...] was actually an assassination conducted by Hutu military hardliners.".<ref>{{cite web |author1=Defense Intelligence Agency |author-link=Defense Intelligence Agency |title=Defense Intelligence Report. Rwanda: The Rwandan Patriotic Front's Offensive (U): Key Judgements. |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/rw050994.pdf |page=4 |date=9 May 1994}}</ref> [[Philip Gourevitch]], in his [[We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families|1998 book on the genocide]], framed the thinking of the time:
<blockquote>Although Habyarimana's assassins have never been positively identified, suspicion has focused on the extremists in his entourage—notably the semiretired Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, an intimate of [[Agathe Habyarimana|Madame Habyarimana]], and a charter member of the ''[[akazu]]'' and its death squads, who said in January 1993 that he was preparing an apocalypse.<ref>[[Philip Gourevitch]], ''[[We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families]]'', New York: Picador, {{ISBN|0-312-24335-9}}, p. 113</ref></blockquote>
The 1997 report of the [[Belgian Senate]] stated that there was not enough information to determine specifics about the assassination.<ref>[http://www.senate.be/www/?MIval=/publications/viewPubDoc&TID=16778570&LANG=fr#1-611/7_185 Report of the Commission d'enquête parlementaire concernant les événements du Rwanda], Section 3.5.1: L'attentat contre l'avion présidentiel, [[Belgian Senate]] session of 1997–1998, 6 December 1997 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> A 1998 report by the [[National Assembly of France]] posited two probable explanations. One is that the attack was carried out by groups of Hutu extremists, distressed by the advancement of negotiations with the RPF, the political and military adversary of the current regime, while the other is that it was the responsibility of the RPF, frustrated at the lack of progress in the [[Arusha Accords (Rwanda)|Arusha Accords]]. Among the other [[hypothesis|hypotheses]] that were examined is one that implicates the French military, although there is no clear motive for a French attack on the Rwandan government. The 1998 French report made no determination between the two dominant theories.<ref name=French1998/> A 2000 report by the [[Organisation of African Unity]] does not attempt to determine responsibility.<ref>{{cite web |author=Organization of African Unity |author-link=Organization of African Unity |title=Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d1da8752.html |website=Refworld.org |language=en |date=July 2000 |at=Chapter 14: The Genocide}}</ref>
A January 2000 article in the Canadian ''[[National Post]]'' reported that [[Louise Arbour]], the chief prosecutor for the ICTR, had terminated an investigation into the shootdown after three Tutsi informants came forward in 1997 with detailed accusations against Paul Kagame and the RPF, claiming that they had been members of an "elite strike team" responsible for the downing.<ref name=Edwards>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220622233840/http://www.geocities.com/iwacu.geo/explosive.htm%3F200624 "Explosive Leak on Rwanda Genocide"] by Steven Edwards, ''[[National Post]]'', 3 January 2000 (hosted by geocities.com)</ref> One of the three whistleblowers was Jean-Pierre Mugabe, who issued a declaration on the shootdown in April 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Barrie |title=Rwanda 1994: The Myth of the Akazu Genocide Conspiracy and its Consequences |date=August 26, 2014 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-1137022325 |pages=23–24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200004240054.html|title=Declaration on the Shooting Down of the Aircraft Carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyalimina and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6, 1994|publisher=[[International Strategic Studies Association]]|via=[[AllAfrica]]|date=April 21, 2000|first=Jean-Pierre|last=Mugabe|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Following the ''National Post''{{'}}s article, a three-page memorandum written by investigator Michael Hourigan was sent to the ICTR where defense attorneys had requested it.<ref name=BBC2000>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/694660.stm "Memo Links Rwandan Leader To Killing"], ''BBC News'', 29 March 2000</ref><ref name=ICTR2000>{{cite web|url=http://unictr.irmct.org/en/news/statement-president-plane-crash-rwanda-april-1994 |title=Statement by the President of the ICTR: Plane crash in Rwanda in April 1994|id=ICTR/INFO-9-2-228STA.EN| publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda]] |location=Arusha |date=7 April 2000}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|Hourigan wrote two memoranda. One was a four-page memorandum written in January 1997 to brief Arbour; the second was three pages long and dated August 1997, written before his resignation.<ref name=theage>{{cite news |last1=McKenzie |first1=Nick |title=Uncovering Rwanda's secrets |url=https://www.theage.com.au/world/uncovering-rwandas-secrets-20070210-ge46zz.html |work=[[The Age]] |date=10 February 2007 |language=en}}</ref> Sanitized copies of both memoranda are available.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rwandadelaguerreaugenocide.univ-paris1.fr/ictr-investigator-michael-hourigans-report-to-prosecutor-louise-arbour-concerning-the-downing-of-the-presidential-plane-on-6-april-1994-january-1997/|title=From War to Genocide, Annex 49: ICTR Investigator Michael Hourigan's report to Prosecutor Louise Arbour concerning the downing of the presidential plane on 6 April 1994 (January 1997)|first=André|last=Guichaoua|date=25 October 2015}}</ref>}} Hourigan later stated that investigation into the shootdown had been clearly within his mandate and that he was "astounded" when Arbour made an about-face and told him it was not.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uantwerpen.be/images/uantwerpen/container2143/files/Publications/DP/2013/01-Reydams.pdf#page=48|pages=48–51|title=Let's Be Friends: The United States, Post-Genocide Rwanda, and Victor's Justice in Arusha|date=January 2013|first=Luc|last=Reydams|work=[[Institute of Development Policy and Management]]|access-date=30 October 2018|archive-date=29 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429035151/https://www.uantwerpen.be/images/uantwerpen/container2143/files/Publications/DP/2013/01-Reydams.pdf#page=48|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=theage/> This sequence of events was confirmed by Hourigan's boss, Jim Lyons, a former FBI agent who headed the so-called National Investigative Team. Lyons believes Arbour was acting on orders to shut down the investigation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rever |first=Judi |title=[[In Praise of Blood]] |date=2018 |publisher=Random House of Canada |isbn=9780345812117 |language=en|pages=177–179}}</ref>  An investigation by [[Luc Reydams]] concluded that there was no evidence of such orders. Reydams argued that the decision to shut down the investigation was "based on an assessment of the concrete conditions at the time" and that "any responsible Prosecutor would have concluded that pursuing the investigation would be futile and dangerous."<ref name=Reydams>{{cite journal |last1=Reydams |first1=Luc |title=Politics or Pragmatism? The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Burying of the Investigation into the Assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana |journal=Human Rights Quarterly |date=14 November 2018 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=989–1013 |doi=10.1353/hrq.2018.0052 |s2cid=158033062 |language=en |issn=1085-794X}}</ref>
Arbour later stated that "It was my decision and my decision alone". According to Arbour, the OTP in Kigali was in a very difficult situation at the time:
{{Blockquote|We did not want to invest substantial resources only to have a judge refuse to confirm an indictment for lack of jurisdiction. I was not persuaded that the shooting down of the plane would in law constitute a war crime or a crime against humanity. It would be difficult to construe it as an act of genocide unless it was perpetrated by the leaders of the genocide to act as a trigger for the mass mobilization that followed. The situation was different fifteen years later. With all the high profile RPF defections and incriminating statements, it might have been possible to mount a case. [....] From a legal angle, it is not so much the shooting down of the plane that is of interest, but allegations of actions by the RPF that would have constituted [[crimes against humanity]] during the period of time (1994) over which the tribunal had jurisdiction. During my time at ICTR, we always assumed that this work would have  to  be  done,  but  that  we  would  have  to  be  very  cautious  about  how  to  proceed, preferably by working from outside the country. I understand however that from a historical perspective, the shooting of the plane will continue to be a great focus of speculation if there is no closure.<ref name=Reydams/>}}
In 1998, the French anti-terrorist magistrate [[Jean-Louis Bruguière]] opened an investigation into the shootdown on behalf of the families of the French aircraft crew. On the basis of hundreds of interviews, Bruguière concluded that the assassination had been carried out on the orders of Paul Kagame, and issued arrest warrants against nine of Kagame's aides in 2006.<ref name="2004 report coverage">{{cite news |title=Rwanda denies French allegations |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3501032.stm |date=11 March 2004 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name=Grande/> In protest, Rwanda broke diplomatic relations with France. In November 2008 the German government implemented the first of these European warrants by arresting [[Rose Kabuye]], Kagame's chief of protocol, upon her arrival in [[Frankfurt]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20081110/15419 |title=Rwandan president's aide arrested in Germany |agency=AFP |date= 10 November 2008}}</ref>
One of Bruguière's witnesses was [[Abdul Ruzibiza]], a former lieutenant in the RPF who claimed that he was part of a cell that carried out the assassination with shoulder-fired [[9K38 Igla|SA-16]] missiles.<ref name="2004 report coverage"/> Days after the substance of Bruguière's report was leaked in 2004, Ruzibaza published his testimony in a press release, detailing his account and further accusing the RPF of starting the conflict, prolonging the genocide, carrying out widespread atrocities during the genocide and political repression.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fdlr.r-online.info/Actualite/Abdul_Ruzibiza_testimony.htm|title=Testimony of Abdul Ruzibiza|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406163959/http://fdlr.r-online.info/Actualite/Abdul_Ruzibiza_testimony.htm |archive-date=6 April 2005|date=14 March 2004|website=fdlr.r-online.info}}</ref> The former RPF officer published a book in 2005 with his account (''Rwanda. L’histoire secrete''),<ref name="JustWorld2004">[http://justworldnews.org/archives/ruzibiza.html "Kagame Ordered Shooting Down of Habyarimana's Plane-Ruzibiza"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011194812/http://justworldnews.org/archives/ruzibiza.html|date=11 October 2007}}, ''[[Just World News]]'', 14 November 2004</ref> and testified under oath before the ICTR in 2006.<ref name=Reyntjens240>{{cite book|last1=Reyntjens|first1=Filip|title=Political Governance in Post-Genocide Rwanda|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107043558|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dX4LAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|page=240}}</ref> The scholar [[René Lemarchand]] wrote about the book that "The careful marshalling of the evidence, the remarkably precise information concerning who did what, where, and when, the author's familiarity with the operational code of the RPF, leave few doubts in the reader's mind about Kagame's responsibility in triggering the event that led to the bloodshed."<ref>{{cite journal |first=René|last=Lemarchand|author-link=René Lemarchand |title=Rwanda: the state of Research {{!}} Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance – Réseau de recherche |journal=Sciencespo.fr |date=25 June 2018 |url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/rwanda-state-research |issn=1961-9898}}</ref> In November 2008 Ruzibiza suddenly claimed he had invented everything, but some months before his death in 2010, Ruzibiza explained that his retraction "is linked to my personal security and that of other witnesses".<ref name=Reyntjens240/> Yet Ruzubiza now changed his story by saying that he did not personally participate in the downing of the plane, but rather knew someone who did.<ref>{{cite web |title=Audition sur commission rogatoire internationale |url=http://ddata.over-blog.com/xxxyyy/2/23/08/90/JUSTICE-INTERNATIONALE/ATTENTAT-06-04-94/Ultime-Audition-integrale-de-Joshua-Abdul-Ruzibiza.pdf |date=15 June 2010}}</ref>
[[Linda Melvern]] wrote that Bruguière's evidence "was very sparse, and that some of it, concerning the alleged anti-aircraft missiles used to down the presidential jet, had already been rejected by a French Parliamentary enquiry."<ref name=BBC/> A 2007 article by [[Colette Braeckman]] in ''[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]'' strongly questions the reliability of Judge Bruguière's report and suggests the direct involvement of French military personnel acting for or with the Presidential Guard of the Rwanda governmental forces in the missile attack on the aircraft.<ref>[http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2007/01/BRAECKMAN/14367 "Accusations suspectes contre le régime rwandais,"] ''[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]'', January 2007 (retrieved 13 April 2009){{in lang|fr}}</ref> In a 2007 interview with the BBC, Kagame said he would co-operate with an impartial inquiry "carried out by a judge who had nothing to do with Rwanda or France". The BBC concluded, "Whether any judge would want to take on such a task is quite another matter."<ref name="BBC2">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6312579.stm |title=Rwanda leader defiant on killing claim |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2007 |access-date=26 November 2007}}</ref>
[[Paul Rusesabagina]], a Rwandan of mixed Hutu and Tutsi origin whose life-saving efforts was the basis of the 2004 film ''[[Hotel Rwanda]]'', has supported the allegation that Kagame and the RPF were behind the plane downing, and wrote in November 2006 that it "defies logic" that the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] had not ordered an investigation, as [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1595|it had done]] following the far less consequential assassination of [[Rafic Hariri]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Rusesabagina |title=''Compendium of RPF crimes – October 1990 to present: The case for overdue prosecution'' |url=http://www.taylor-report.com/articles/Compendium_of_RPF_Crimes.pdf |date=November 2006 |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716193612/http://www.taylor-report.com/articles/Compendium_of_RPF_Crimes.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In February 2008, a 182-page indictment<ref>{{cite web |title=Juzgado Central de instrucción No 4, Audiencia Nacional, Sumario 3/2.008 – D, Auto |url=http://www.veritasrwandaforum.org/dosier/resol_auto_esp_06022008.pdf |date=6 February 2008 |language=es}}</ref> and international arrest warrants were issued against 40 current or former high-ranking Rwandan military officials of the [[Rwandan Patriotic Army]]/[[Rwandan Defence Forces]] by the [[Spain|Spanish]] Investigative Judge [[Fernando Andreu]] of the ''[[Audiencia Nacional]]''. They were charged with a number of serious crimes between 1990 and 2002, including the shootdown of Habyarimana's plane.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Spanish Indictment of High-ranking Rwandan Officials |journal=Journal of International Criminal Justice |date=1 November 2008 |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=1003–1011 |doi=10.1093/jicj/mqn077}}</ref> Unlike the French judicial enquiry,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reyntjens|first1=Filip|title=Political Governance in Post-Genocide Rwanda|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107043558|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dX4LAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152|pages=152–153}}</ref> Andreu's indictment was in part based on the principle of [[universal jurisdiction]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Tracy |title=Spain indicts 40 Rwandan officers |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-07-fg-rwanda7-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 February 2008}}</ref>
Kagame also ordered the formation of [[Mucyo Commission|a commission of Rwandans]] that was "charged with assembling proof of the involvement of France in the genocide".<ref name="AFP">{{cite web|publisher=AFP |title=''Génocide rwandais: le rapport sur le rôle de la France remis à Paul Kagamé'' |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ivoud7VGPIJv80NnCsNAuC2RnWPw |date=16 November 2007 |access-date=4 December 2010|language=fr}}</ref> The commission issued its report to Kagame in November 2007 and its head, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, stated that the commission would now "wait for President Kagame to declare whether the inquiry was valid".<ref name="AFP"/>
In January 2010, the Rwandan government released the "Report of the Investigation into the Causes and Circumstances of and Responsibility for the Attack of 06/04/1994 Against The Falcon 50 Rwandan Presidential Aeroplane Registration Number 9XR-NN," known as the Mutsinzi Report.  The multivolume report implicates proponents of Hutu Power in the attack and Philip Gourevitch states, "two months ago, on the day after Rwanda's admission to the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], France and Rwanda reestablished normal diplomatic relations. Before that happened, of course, the Rwandans had shared the about-to-be-released Mutsinzi report with the French. The normalization of relations amounts to France's acceptance of the report's conclusions."<ref>{{cite magazine | title=The Mutsinzi Report on the Rwandan Genocide |url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/01/the-mutsinzi-report-on-the-rwandan-genocide.html |first=Philip |last=Gourevitch |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=11 January 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100114103124/http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/01/the-mutsinzi-report-on-the-rwandan-genocide.html| archive-date= 14 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>See {{cite web| url=http://downloads.newyorker.com/downloads/english_pdf_versions.zip | title=Committee of Experts Investigation of the April 6, 1994 Crash of President Habyarimana's Dassault Falcon-50 Aircraft |date=January 2010 |format=zipped file}}</ref>
== Legacy ==
Ntaryamira's death is commemorated by the Burundian government on 6 April of each year.<ref name= renouveau>{{cite news| title = " Les Burundais ont le droit de savoir les circonstances dans lesquelles il a trouvé la mort "| newspaper = Le Renouveau du Burundi| language = French| publisher =| date = 5 April 2018}}</ref> The death of the Burundian president and two of his ministers in the plane shootdown has generally been overshadowed in public memory by Habyarimana's death and the subsequent Rwandan genocide.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3604873.stm| title = Burundi silent over shared tragedy| last = Ndikumagenge| first = Prime| date = 6 April 2004| website = BBC News| publisher = British Broadcasting Corporation| access-date = 23 June 2021}}</ref>
== See also ==
*[[List of heads of state and government who died in aviation accidents and incidents]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
* {{cite book|last1=Dallaire|first1=Roméo|author-link=Roméo Dallaire|last2=Beardsley |first2=Brent|author-link2=Brent Beardsley|year=2003|title=[[Shake Hands with the Devil (book)|Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda]]|publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers]]|location=New York |isbn=0-7867-1487-5}}
* {{cite news| last1 = Gaillard| first1 = Philippe| last2 = Barrada| first2 = Hamid| title = Le récit en direct de la famille Habyarimana | newspaper = Jeune Afrique| issue = 1738 | pages = 12–19| language = French| date = 28 April 1994}}
* {{cite book|last=Mamdani|first=Mahmood|author-link=Mahmood Mamdani|year=2001|title=When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|url=https://archive.org/details/whenvictimsbecom0000mamd|url-access=registration|location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=0-691-10280-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Melvern|first=Linda|author-link=Linda Melvern|year=2004|title=Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide|publisher=[[Verso Books|Verso]]|location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwz20bNknsC|isbn=0-312-30486-2}}
==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bRJbPL1d3Y Video Animation of the Crash] - Synopsis of findings from Rwanda's Mutsinzi Report: Government of Rwanda Media Guide to the Committee of Experts Investigation of 6 April 1994 Crash of President Habyarimana's Dassault Falcon-50 Aircraft
*{{cite journal |last1=Reyntjens |first1=Filip |author-link=Filip Reyntjens|title=The RPF did it : a fresh look at the 1994 plane attack that ignited genocide in Rwanda - University of Antwerp |journal=Working Papers |date=2020 |url=https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/research-groups/iob/publications/working-papers/wp-2020/wp-202005/ |publisher=[[Institute of Development Policy and Management]] |issn=2294-8643}}
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