Execution of Ten Belgian Blue Helmets
The presidential guard captured the fifteen Blue Helmets, troops from UNAMIR, who had been protecting the Prime Minister, Madame Uwilingiyimana. Five out of the fifteen were Ghanaian and were quickly set free. The other ten were Belgians from the Paracommando Brigade, and were tortured and hacked to death with machetes .
Major Bernard Ntuyahaga was convicted of the murders in 2007. In his book, Me Against My Brother, Scott Peterson describes the barbaric details of their murders:
Their Achilles tendons were cut so they couldn't run, and the Belgian soldiers — all of them privates — were castrated and died choking on their genitalia.
Bagosora and his entourage immediately advised General Dallaire that it was better for the Belgians to leave immediately because the radio accused them of being the perpetrators behind the attack on the presidential airplane. These accusations had aroused the uncontrollable anger of the group. Earlier in the year, General Dallaire had been told by an informer named "Jean-Pierre" in January 1994 that there was a plan to attack the Belgians in order to make them leave the UNAMIR, where they formed the largest contingent of soldiers.
The names of the peacekeepers who died are:
- Lt. Thierry Lottin
- 1Sgt. Yannick Leroy
- Cpl. Bruno Bassinne
- Cpl. Stephane Lhoir
- Cpl. Bruno Meaux
- Cpl. Louis Plescia
- Cpl. Christophe Renwa
- Cpl. Marc Uyttebroek
- Cpl. Christophe Dupont
- Cpl. Alain Debatty
Read more about this topic: Initial Events Of The Rwandan Genocide
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