20 October 1996 – Start of Phase 2 of Hutu Genocide
This date marked the start of the second phase of the genocide against the Hutu people, when the RPF created a new rebellion (AFDL) and launched major attacks in North and South Kivu, DRC.
As a starting point, in South Kivu, from 20th October 1996, the RPF, with the help of the Burundian army and Banyamulenge soldiers, took control of Bwegera village. The soldiers were then divided into two columns, the first leaving northwards towards Luvungi and the second southwards towards Luberizi. As they advanced, AFDL, RPF and FAB soldiers carried out widespread and systematic attacks on the eleven Rwandan and Burundian refugee camps home for 220,000 Burundian and Rwandan Hutu refugees, killing thousands of them:
• On 20 October 1996, AFDL/APR/FAB units attacked the Itara I and II refugee camps near Luvungi village, killing at least 200 Burundian and Rwandan refugees. In the neighbouring village of Katala, they captured and killed refugees at the point-blank range who were trying to flee. The soldiers then forced local people to bury the bodies in mass graves.
• On 20 October 1996, AFDL/APR/FAB units attacked the Kanganiro camp at Luvungi with heavy weapons, killing an unknown number of refugees, including around twenty in the camp’s hospital. On the same day, they also killed an unknown number of refugees who had been hiding in the homes of Zairian civilians at Luvingi. The soldiers then forced local people to bury the bodies in mass graves.
On 20 October 1996, when they entered the village of Rubenga, units of the AFDL/APR/FAB killed an unknown number of refugees and Zairian civilians who were fleeing in the direction of Burundi. The victims’ bodies were then dumped in the Ruzizi River.
• On 21 October 1996, units of the AFDL/APR/FAB attacked Lubarika camp and village, killing an unknown number of Rwandan and Burundian refugees, as well as Zairian civilians who were trying to flee the village after the departure of the FAZ. The soldiers forced local people to bury the bodies in four large mass graves. On the same day, soldiers also burned thirty refugees alive in a house in the village of Kakumbukumbu, five kilometres from Lubarika camp.
• On 21 October 1996, AFDL/APR/FAB units attacked the Luberizi refugee camp between Luberizi and Mutarule with heavy weapons, killing around 370 refugees. The soldiers threw the bodies of the victims into the latrines. They also killed several dozen people (refugees and Zairians) at the villages of Luberizi and Mutarule. After the killings, the bodies of over 60 victims were found in houses in the two villages.
• On 24 October 1996, AFDL/APR/FAB troops attacked the Kagunga camp, where they killed an unknown number of refugees. One direct witness to the attack confirmed having seen eight bodies. Soldiers also killed an unknown number of refugees trying to escape in the company of Zairians at the village of Hongero, one kilometre from Kagunga
After the capture of the town of Uvira, when the refugees fled in several directions, the RPF erected numerous barriers in the territories of Fizi and Uvira, and intercepted and killed a large number of Hutu refugees
Mapping Report > Section I. Most serious violations > CHAPTER II. First Congo War > B. Attacks against Hutu refugees > 1. South Kivu > Uvira territory: Attacks against Hutu refugees – Uvira territory (South Kivu)