 It was not initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which began in 1990.However, in April 1994 Rwanda's president was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali.Social tensions erupted in the genocide that followed, with Hutu extremists loyal to the interim government killing an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu nationwide.