PHOTOS: Thousands gather to honour Tutsi abandoned by Belgian forces at ETO Kicukiro

Thousands of people gathered this Saturday, April 11, at Nyanza Genocide Memorial in Kicukiro District to honour more than 2,000 Tutsi who were abandoned by Belgian UN peacekeepers and the international community, and subsequently killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The commemoration began with a Walk to Remember from IPRC Kicukiro, formerly École Technique Officielle (ETO) Kicukiro, to Nyanza memorial site, where the victims were massacred. On April 11, 1994, Belgian troops serving under the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) withdrew from ETO Kicukiro, where more than 2000 Tutsi had sought refuge, trusting in the protection previously offered during earlier waves of violence. Their departure left the refugees defenceless. Soon after, militias and soldiers, including members of the former Rwanda Armed Forces (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe, stormed the compound. The refugees were forced to march to Nyanza, where many were killed along the way, while others were executed upon arrival, using grenades and firearms. Issa Nsengiyumva, who was nine years old at the time, arrived at ETO Kicukiro with his parents, three siblings, and extended family members on April 7, 1994, seeking refuge as violence escalated. He is the sole survivor from his family. “After the Belgian forces withdrew, we were gathered and taken to where the memorial stands today,” he recalled. “As the killings began with gunfire and grenades, I managed to run away from the crowd. I fled into the bushes until I encountered soldiers of the RPA Inkotanyi.” “Gathering here, where I lost my entire family, allows me to reflect on what happened, to honour them and restore the dignity they were denied,” he said. “Meeting other survivors and hearing their testimonies reminds me that my survival was not due to any special strength. It is by God’s mercy that I am alive.” Ignace Benimana, 75, also sought refuge at ETO Kicukiro with his wife and two children after fleeing violence in what is now Rulindo District. He, too, is the only survivor from his immediate family. “We had fled from Commune Mbogo (now Rulindo District) to escape the violence, relocating to Kigali. My family had already been attacked at home, and we were accused of being collaborators of the RPA Inkotanyi,” he recounted. Benimana survived after being shot in the arm. He lay among the dead, covered in blood, until the attackers left. He added that commemorations offer a rare sense of collective healing. “When we gather here, it becomes slightly easier. We reflect together, we remember properly, and I can look around and trace the events as they unfolded.” Despite the passage of time and the pursuit of justice, Benimana said some wounds remain unhealed. “The most painful part is that no one has ever come to ask for forgiveness, yet I know some of those responsible,” he said. “Even when justice has taken its course, that absence stays with you.”

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PHOTOS: Thousands gather to honour Tutsi abandoned by Belgian forces at ETO Kicukiro