Déogratias Nsabimana

Déogratias Nsabimana
Allegiance  Rwanda
Service/branch Rwandan Armed Forces
Rank Major-General
Commands held Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army[1]
Battles/wars Rwandan Genocide
Relations Interahamwe Militia

Déogratias Nsabimana (died 6 April 1994) was a former general and chief of staff of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR).

In 1994, he briefly served as chief of staff of the army.[2]

Biography

Military career

In October 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a force of mostly Tutsi Rwandan refugees and expatriates crossed the border from Uganda and invaded Rwanda. Nsabimana distinguished himself on the battlefront [3] As a result, in April 1992, Nsabimana was appointed chief of staff of the Rwandan army. In this role, he supported the development of a new paratrooper unit. As a member of Network Zero (a communication association of military and political leaders), he helped train the future death squads.[4] When evidence of cooperation between the Rwandan army and the Interahamwe militia appeared, he said that he had no knowledge of this cooperation.[5]

In December 1993, as part of the Arusha Agreement, a power-sharing agreement was put into effect, with the rebel movement Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which saw some 600 soldiers enter Kigali. Nsabimana was opposed to the Arusha Agreement. The following year, Nsabimana was allegedly involved in the application of stockpiles for the Interahamwe.[6] According to a witness Nsabimana discussed in March 1994 with Colonel Gratien Kabiligi options for destroying the RPF.[7]

Death

On 6 April 1994 Nsabimana along with President Juvénal Habyarimana were returning from high level talks in Dar es Salaam when their aircraft, Dassault Falcon 50 was hit by two surface-to-air missiles and crashed just outside the presidential compound in Kigali.[8] the plane was carrying twelve aboard, including President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi.[9]

The subsequent Rwandan President Paul Kagame expressed the belief that Nsabimana had been conspiring against Habyarimana, and that he had followed him to Dar es Salaam to keep him under observation.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/Docs/ICTR/Bizimungu_Indictment_EN.pdf
  2. ↑ "ICTR press release about Bizimungu". ICTR.
  3. ↑ From War to Genocide: Criminal Politics in Rwanda, 1990–1994 p74
  4. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda Genocide and the participation of the Western world , Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004. ISBN 3-7205-2486-8 p46
  5. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda Genocide and the participation of the Western world, Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004. ISBN 3-7205-2486-8 p58
  6. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda Genocide and the participation of the Western world, Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004. ISBN 3-7205-2486-8 p117
  7. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda Genocide and the participation of the Western world , Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004. ISBN 3-7205-2486-8 p146
  8. ↑ Criminal Occurrence description, Aviation Safety Network
  9. ↑ Report of the Information Mission on Rwanda, Section 4: L'Attentat du 6 Avril 1994 Contre L'Avion du Président Juvénal Habyarimana, 15 December 1998(in French)
  10. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda Genocide and the participation of the Western world , Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004. ISBN 3-7205-2486-8 p304
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