 In April 1994 President Habyarimana was assassinated when his plane was shot down near Kigali International Airport.Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in the attack.This was the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, in which 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government.