April 16, 1994 marked the 10th day of the 100-day Genocide against the Tutsi, as killings intensified across Rwanda under a coordinated campaign to exterminate Tutsi.
On that day, more than 2,000 Tutsi who had taken refuge at Nyange Catholic Church, in what is now Ngororero District, were killed after the church was deliberately demolished.
Interahamwe militia, backed by gendarmes and local authorities, surrounded the church where thousands had sought protection. According to survivor accounts, Tutsi women and girls were subjected to sexual violence, while others were attacked with stones and grenades.
Former priest Athanase Seromba ordered a bulldozer to destroy the church. As the building collapsed, attackers threw grenades inside, while those attempting to escape were shot or stoned. An estimated 1,500 people were killed in the initial assault.
The following day, militia returned to hunt down survivors and complete the destruction. Children, including those born to Tutsi fathers, were also targeted and killed.
Mass killings were also carried out elsewhere on the same day.
At Ntarama Catholic Church, around 5,000 Tutsi were killed by Interahamwe and soldiers from Gako military camp in one of the most brutal massacres of the genocide.
In eastern Rwanda, killings were reported in Gishali and on Ruhunda hill in present-day Rwamagana District, where victims were murdered and some bodies dumped in water sources at Kavumu.
Further massacres occurred at Saint Aloys School (Rwamagana), in Ruramira (Kayonza District), and on Rutonde hill, where entire groups of displaced Tutsi were wiped out.
In the former Cyangugu Prefecture, now Rusizi District, Tutsi were also killed at CIMERWA factory in Muganza, as well as in Nzahaha and Gashonga sectors.
These coordinated atrocities were part of a nationwide campaign that claimed over one million lives during the Genocide against the Tutsi.
