Publication in the newspaper « La Libre Belgique » Entrenched in the camp Kigali

On arrival in Kigali on 6 April, the presidential plane of Hutu president Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down by two missiles, an attack that has not yet been elucidated. The death of the head of state serves as the trigger for a genocide that has been prepared for months. At dawn on 7 April, the cohabitation Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilin giyimana (from the opposition), wanted to make an appeasement speech on the radio, escorted by ten Belgian blue helmets who had come during the night to reinforce her protection by Ghanaian blue helmets.
The Rwandan Presidential Guard surrounded the Prime Minister’s home. The Belgian paratroopers allow themselves to be disarmed. Lieutenant Thierry Lotin, First Sergeant Yan Nick Leroy, Corporals Bruno Bassine, Alain Debatty, Christophe Dupont, Stéphane Lhoir, Bruno Meaux, Louis Plescia, Christophe Renwa and Marc Uyttebroeck are then taken to Camp Kigali by the Presidential Guard. It was there that some of them were lynched as soon as they arrived, while the others, who had taken refuge in a small office, resisted until the afternoon, before succumbing to the murderous attacks. © OLIVIER PAPEGNIES