Rwandan genocide survivors relive horror

KIGALI, Rwanda -- For most Rwandans, the memory of genocide, rapes and murders are still fresh some 10 years after more than 500,000 people were hacked, shot and clubbed to death in the 100-day killing spree in this tiny central African country.

Today African leaders and U.S. and European officials in the capital, Kigali, will mark the 10th anniversary of the slaughter that began on April 7, 1994.

"It might be 10 years since the genocide began, but those of us who were here at the time shall relive the horror, the terror and the pain of the slaughter," said Verena Mukarugambwa, a shop assistant who survived the genocide. "That is the day some of us fled our homes and began life on the run. That is the day I shall never forget."

Mukarugambwa said the anniversary ceremony was key to ensuring the tragedy is never forgotten.

"It's a good thing that this day will be observed by the whole country," she said.

The killing began hours after a plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana, a member of the Hutu majority, was shot down on April 6, 1994, by still unidentified assailants.

Tutsis who now dominate the nation's government and army say the slaughter began April 7. They don't want the date to coincide with the shooting down of Habyarimana's plane -- a date with political meaning for radical Hutus.

The killing was orchestrated by the Hutu-extremist government then in power. Government troops, Hutu militia and ordinary villagers spurred on by hate messages broadcast via radio went from village to village, butchering men, women and children. Most of the victims where members of the Tutsi minority and politically moderate Hutus.

At least 500,000 people were known to have been killed, though some estimates range as high as 800,000.

Many survivors still don't know what happened to their loved ones. Others are just beginning to learn the gory details as killers confess to their deeds.

"I do not know when my family was killed, so I mark their death on April 7," said Irene Uwamwezi, a supermarket manager.

Uwamwezi managed to flee to neighboring Burundi, but her husband, five children and sister were killed by Hutu neighbors and dumped in a pit latrine at the family's house.

Uwamwezi only discovered the truth last week, when those involved showed her where her family lay.

"The day is very important because the world must see clearly that Rwanda is crying," she said.

The killing ended in July 1994 after Tutsi-led rebels, under current President Paul Kagame, seized Kigali.

On Wednesday, Kagame will light a flame in memory to the genocide victims and inaugurate a national memorial where the remains of 250,000 people are buried in tombs and displayed in glass cases.