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The majority Hutu uprising against decades of Tutsi dominance forces thousands of Tutsi refugees to flee to neighboring countries. -
Rwanda gains independence from Belgium and establishes itself as a Hutu-dominated republic. -
The invasion of Tutsi exiles results in a slaughter of 10,000 Tutsis and a new refugee evacuation. -
In a bloodless coup, Major-General Juvenal Habyarimana seizes power and ushers in a period of reconciliation. -
Habyarimana has ruled out the return of refugees, stating that the nation's goal is to combat overpopulation. -
Invasion by Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels stationed in Uganda, seeking the return of thousands of mostly Tutsi refugees, is repulsed, and rebel commander Fred Rwigyema is slain. -
The government and the RPF reach an agreement to end years of civil war, allowing for power-sharing and the return of refugees. However, President Habyarimana drags his feet implementing it. -
A rocket attack on their jet kills Habyarimana and Burundi's President Cyprien Ntaryamira. The death of Habyarimana sparks genocide, resulting in the slaughter of about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. RPF launches a new offensive. -
Presidential guards assassinate moderate Hutu Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiwimana, who was attempting to defuse tensions. RPF seizes control of Rwanda in July 1994, after pushing a 40,000-strong Hutu army and over 2 million civilian Hutus into exile in Burundi, Tanzania, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). -
Rwandan forces dressed as Zairean insurgents invade Zaire. Thousands of people are slaughtered, and hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees return to Rwanda. Rwanda's first genocide trial begins in June 1997 at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).