Remains of over 100 Rwanda genocide victims found in backyard
Friday August 21 2020
Skulls of victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide's at the Ntarama Genocide Memorial, in Kigali.
Remains of over 100 victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi have been exhumed in the Rwandan capital Kigali, a survivors' organisation said on Monday.
The remains were discovered from a pit at the backyard of a house in Nyarugenge district, which belongs to a former notorious Interahamwe militia member, Masengo Rutayisire.
Head of Ibuka, the umbrella organisation of genocide survivors of Rwanda, told reporters of the discovery at a news briefing at the site.
They were discovered after a local resident heard occupants of the house talking about the mass grave. The resident later informed the authorities.
The search for the remains, which started last week, is still ongoing, with two more pits expected to be dug out, he said.
Occupants of the home were arrested on suspicion of concealing information of the remains.
Remains of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are still being discovered in many parts of Rwanda.
An estimated 500,000 to 1 million Rwandans were brutally murdered in a 100 days from April 7 to mid-July 1994, with the overwhelming majority of the victims being Tutsis.
In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, remains of 118,049 genocide victims were discovered in 17 districts countrywide, according to National Commission for the Fight against Genocide.