In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. Over the course of the next 3 years, neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage. In an effort to bring the war to a peaceful end, the Rwandan government led by President Habyarimana, a Hutu, signed the Arusha Accords with the RPF on August 4, 1993.
Habayarimana's assassination created a power vacuum, and ended the peace accords. Genocidal killings began the following day when majority Hutu soldiers, police, and militia murdered key Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders.
The scale and brutality of the genocide caused shock worldwide, but no country intervened to forcefully stop the killings. Most of the victims were killed in their own villages or towns, many by their neighbors and fellow villagers. Hutu gangs searched out victims hiding in churches and school buildings.
The militia murdered victims with machetes and rifles. An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women raped during the genocide. The RPF quickly resumed the civil war once the genocide started, and captured all government territory, ending the genocide and forcing the government into neighboring Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By the time it ends on July 15, Hutu militias had killed over 800,000 Tutsis.
The genocide had lasting and profound effects. In 1996, the RPF-led Rwandan government launched an offensive into Zaire, home to exiled leaders of the former Rwandan government and many Hutu refugees, starting the First Congo War, and killing an estimated 200,000 people.
Today, Rwanda has two public holidays to mourn the genocide, and "genocide ideology" nd "divisionism" are criminal offenses. Rwanda remains a one-party state, without much freedom for its 14 million people, 94 percent of whom identify as Christian.
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April 6, 1994 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-2 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds were tied at 8-6 after 6 innings at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, when the game was called due to rain.
* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 7-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds hit a home run against his former team.
* The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up the next day. The Yankees won, 18-6. Mike Gallego hit 2 home runs, when 1 would have been a surprise from him. Less surprisingly, Bernie Williams also homered for the Yankees. Danny Tartabull went 4-for-5 with a walk and 4 RBIs. Wade Boggs went 4-for-5 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Terry Mulholland was the winning pitcher.
* The Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners were rained out at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Due to the Strike of '94, the game was never made up.
* And the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics were not scheduled.
Football was out of season. There were 7 games in the NBA:
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-114 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Miami Heat beat the Washington Bullets 114-103 at the USAir Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers, 129-90 at the Charlotte Coliseum.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics, 111-107 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 110-100 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Despite losing, Dominique Wilkins scored 34 points.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 107-95 at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix. Despite losing, David Robinson scored 33 points.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 128-123 in overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Despite losing, Mitch Richmond scored 39 points.
And there were 6 games in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders and the Hartford Whalers played to a tie, 3-3 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).
* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Ottawa Senators beat the Washington Capitals, 6-5 at the Ottawa Civic Centre (now the TD Place Arena).
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* And the Calgary Flames beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
There was also UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal action. AS Monaco defeated Real Madrid, 3-1 at Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo, Monaco, allowing Monaco to advance on away goals, 5-5. And in perhaps the greatest missed opportunity in team history, North London team Arsenal, in their "Invincibles" league title season, lost at home at Highbury, 2-1 to West London team Chelsea, who won 3-2 on aggregate.
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