Belgian Peacekeeper Massacre
1994 Heroic UN Last Stand in Kigali, Rwanda
Belgium, renowned for its declared neutrality, was violated in both world wars by countries that had sworn to protect it. Belgium subsequently became a member of both NATO and the UN after being liberated at the close of World War II. The country has always had a small but very professional military force and committed its troops to both NATO and UN operations with great zeal. Belgian peacekeepers have seen hard service on several continents for decades and have built a reputation for being dedicated and professional. In 1994 a small force of Belgian ParaCommandos on peacekeeping assignment as part of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR) made the ultimate sacrifice to world peace.
On April 6, 1994 a squad of crack ParaCommandos of the Belgian Army’s 2nd Cdo Battalion, as part of a 428-man battalion, under overall command of Canadian Major General Romeo Dallaire, was given a mission to avoid bloodshed and possibly stop a civil war in Rwanda. Upon hearing that the Rwandan President’s plane had crashed mysteriously, Dallaire ordered ten Belgians under Lt. Thierry Lotin to secure the Prime Minister of Rwanda and bring her to the radio station in the capital to make an appeal for peace. Lt. Lotin and his men arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence in the early morning hours of April 7th, where they were immediately attacked by a larger force of Hutu members of the Rwandan Army who themselves were attempting to capture the prime minister. For two hours the Belgian peacekeepers fought alone with dwindling supplies of ammunition. The Prime Minister left her protectors and attempted to hide in a nearby house but was found and killed by the attackers. Senegal Army Captain Mbaye Diagne, working in his own and without orders, bravely managed to save her children. Lt. Lotin called for support and extraction and was advised by radio by his commander that he should turn over his unit’s arms and place themselves under the Hutu custody.
The ten Belgians were disarmed and taken to the Rwandan barracks in Kigali where they were observed from a distance by Major General Dallaire who was largely powerless to rescue them. There the unarmed Belgian peacekeepers were attacked by the assembled mob of mutinous Rwandan soldiers. It is known that four of the peacekeepers were hacked to death by machetes and bayonets before they could react. Lt. Lotin gathered his remaining men and made for a nearby barracks office where he used his service pistol that he had hidden to hold off further attack. The Belgians barricaded themselves and again tried to hold out for relief that never came. After a three-hour standoff their position was rushed by the Rwandan soldiers and the Belgian force perished to a man.
Major General Dallaire was given the ten mutilated and stripped bodies the next day by the Rwandan military. Belgium was shocked and public opinion called for the Belgian Army contingent to be removed back to its European base within a fortnight. The genocide that the UN peacekeepers had attempted to prevent swept the country and is remembered as possibly the greatest failure of the post-Cold War international community. More than 930,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are estimated to have been killed during the genocide in Rwanda. In 1997, a Belgian courts martial found Major General Dallaire free of any fault for failing to rescue the peacekeepers due to being significantly under-equipped and handicapped by rules of engagement. In 2004 a memorial was erected in Kigali on the tenth anniversary of the Belgians' massacre on the site of their death. The dedication was attended by the families of the dead as well as representatives of the international community.
Sources
Getting the Facts Straight: Rwanda 1994 - Lee A. Windsor The Vanguard Vol. 2, No. 6
Press releases of the Information, Documentation and Training Agency, Arusha (Tanzania): 1994 - 2004
Shake Hands with the Devil - Lt General Romeo Dallaire (2001)
