End of the genocide

The genocide ended only when the RPF, led by Paul Kagame, militarily defeated the Hutu government in July 1994. Approximately two million Hutus, including many perpetrators and ordinary civilians fearing reprisal, fled to neighboring countries, especially Zaire (Congo). The Tutsi refugee crisis was followed by a Hutu refugee crisis. The Hutu refugees in eastern Congo would contribute to the regional instability that produced the First and Second Congo Wars, conflicts that eventually killed millions.