On July 18, 1994, the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) captured Gisenyi, marking a decisive moment in its military campaign to end the Genocide against the Tutsi and take control of the country.
The capture came 102 days after the genocide began and four days after RPA forces seized Ruhengeri on July 14, 1994. Following fighting between July 17 and 18, the RPF-Inkotanyi’s armed wing announced that it had taken control of Gisenyi, leaving only areas under the French-controlled Zone Turquoise in Kibuye, Gikongoro and Cyangugu outside its reach.
The fall of Gisenyi effectively signalled the collapse of the former government forces, known as the Ex-FAR, and marked the final phase of the RPA’s military advance across the country.
Following their defeat, members of the government that had called itself the “Government of Abatabazi” fled towards Bukavu, while others moved to Goma in what was then Zaire. Some of them reportedly sought to regroup and launch further attacks against Rwanda.
The Ex-FAR forces crossed into Goma with weapons, while about 1,500 others fled into areas controlled by French troops under Zone Turquoise.
Days earlier, on July 15, 1994, France’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that several members of the interim government were in Cyangugu, including interim president Théodore Sindikubwabo, agriculture minister Straton Nsabumukunzi, youth minister Callixte Nzabonimana, public service minister Prosper Mugiraneza and higher education minister Daniel Mbangura.
Jean de Dieu Habineza, who served as public service minister, arrived in Goma on July 16 and said the Abatabazi government would remain in Cyangugu and continue political activities from there.
After the capture of Gisenyi, Major General Paul Kagame, then commander of the RPA, announced that the war had ended across Rwanda and that RPA forces controlled the entire country, except areas under French control in Zone Turquoise.
The fall of Gisenyi brought the RPA’s nationwide military campaign to an end and marked the collapse of the former regime that had overseen the genocide.
