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The remains of nearly 85,000 people murdered during the Rwandan genocide were buried Saturday during a grim ceremony in Kigali, a quarter of a century after the mbadacre.
The mourners sobbed and 81 white coffins containing the remains of 84,437 victims of the 1994 mbadacres were buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial in the capital.
They were among more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, slaughtered for over 100 days by Hutu extremists and militias determined to eradicate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.
Rwanda begins 100 days of mourning every April 7 – the day of the genocide. But this year has been marked by special commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary.
"Commemorating the genocide against the Tutsi is the responsibility of every Rwandan – and therefore gives them a decent burial," Justice Minister Johnston Busingye said during the mbad burial.
Some mourners cried when the survivors spoke of the pain of losing their loved ones so brutally. A number were escorted from the burial by ushers.
Emanuel Nduwayezu said this discovery meant that he finally had a place to come every April 7 to lay a wreath of flowers in memory of his murdered family.
"At the moment, I am very happy because I buried my father, my sister, his children and my brother-in-law.Twenty-five years have pbaded and I did not know where they were," he said. he told AFP.
"Everyday, I thought and became confused (about) where my father was, but now I found him and buried him."
The remains of those who were buried on Saturday were discovered at the beginning of last year alone, when 143 pits containing thousands of bones and fragments of clothing were discovered under houses on the outskirts of Kigali .
Those who were exhumed on Saturday for burial came from just 43 pits of this type, leaving 100 more.
A painstaking effort was made so that family members could identify their loved ones by their teeth, clothes and other marks.
They join the other 11,000 victims already buried at the Nyanza Genocide Memorial.
Disaster discovery
Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, who heads Ibuka, an umbrella organization for survivors of the genocide, said that a local owner had revealed the location of the graves only after being threatened with arrest.
More pits were later found when a man, tasked in 1994 to dump corpses, presented new information.
Dusingizemungu said that it was likely that people living on the graves would know what lies beneath their homes.
"It is regrettable that (…) these authors, now free, never bother to reveal to families of bereaved families the location of these burial places, so that they can be closed" , did he declare.
Clementine Ingabire was the only survivor of her extended family of 23 people who were slaughtered in the frenzy.
Seven of his parents were identified in the pits, their remains scattered in the coffins. But at least they got a decent burial, she said.
At only seven o'clock at the time, Ingabire remains incredulous, she managed to survive.
"Despite the fact that most people were very cruel, there were those who took risks to save others," said the 32-year-old.
"I was saved by a Hutu woman who was a good friend of my mother." She saw me running and even caught me … that's how I was. I survived. "
The ethnic bloodshed ended on July 4 when mainly Tutsi rebels entered Kigali, chasing genocidal killers from Rwanda. The rebel general was Paul Kagame, who became president of Rwanda and has remained in power ever since.
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