June 15, 1994 marked the 71st day of the 100-day genocide against the Tutsi, as killings continued across Rwanda amid ongoing military advances by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), which was progressively taking control of parts of the country and rescuing civilians in several areas.
On this day, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) evacuated Tutsi civilians who had taken refuge at Saint Famille Church in Kigali, relocating them to areas under RPF control. The evacuation mainly involved women, girls and children.
The operation followed a request reportedly made by Col Laurent Munyakazi, who instructed local officials Odeta Nyirabagenzi and Angelina Mukandutiye to mobilize Interahamwe militias to surround the evacuation site, preventing men and young males from boarding the vehicles—an effort aimed at controlling who was evacuated.
At Saint Famille Church, Tutsi civilians continued to be killed and abducted intermittently, with the site heavily surrounded by gendarmes and Interahamwe militias, making it extremely difficult and dangerous for those seeking refuge.
On June 14, a major attack at the Centre National de Pastorale (Saint Paul) resulted in the abduction of between 72 and 80 Tutsi civilians, who were later taken to Rugenge Sector and killed at a site commonly referred to as the CND.
On June 15, following the previous day’s killings, a young man identified as Gasore Gustave, a Hutu who had sheltered Tutsi civilians at the Centre National de Pastorale, remained in hiding within the premises of Father Célestin Hakizimana after it became known he had assisted victims, fearing reprisals.
Later that day, he was taken away by a group that included his parents and relatives, despite appeals from the priest who had sheltered him. He was later killed at a location known as SOFERWA.
The events of this period underscore the continued targeting of Tutsi civilians during the genocide, even as limited rescue operations were being conducted by international forces and advancing RPF troops in some areas.
