6 April 1994 - Assassinations Signal the Start of the Rwandan Genocide

President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi, plus a number of government officials are killed, when their aircraft is brought down by a missile on its approach to Kigali airport.

Rwanda's Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, stated in an interview with Radio France that evening "there is shooting, people are being terrorized, people are inside their homes lying on the floor. We are suffering the consequences of the death of the head of state, I believe. We, the civilians, are in no way responsible for the death of our head of state."