Understand the event

At the beginning of the genocide, several factions that could bring together within themselves divergent movements clashed on the regional political chessboard.
Authorized since 1991, the multiparty system has led to a fragmentation of the democratic opposition which nevertheless remains a minority in the face of the main party in power and racist extremist movements. The regime in place, led for twenty years by President Juvenal Habyarimana, is characterized by a political game online of crête and the persistence of a double speech to face antagonistic pressures from actors with divergent interests (racist extremists and the international community in particular). The assassination by Tutsi soldiers, on 21 October 1993, of the president of neighboring Burundi – the first democratically elected Hutu head of state – sets off a further escalation in the radicalization of Rwandan extremists.
Under the leadership of Froduald Karamira, various extremist racist factions and their militias gather under the banner of "Hutu Power". The previous partisan disputes being left aside, the rallying of the "Hutu Power" supported by hate propaganda promotes indoctrination and psychological preparation of the population for genocide.
Alongside these local actors, the position of the international community plays a decisive role. Present on the ground from December 1993, the troops of the United Nations replace the French forces tainted by their unwavering support to the Habyarimana regime in 1990.
Responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Arusha Accords, this international force called the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) deliberately withdraws from the conflict and abandons the Tutsi to their fate.