Rwanda Tuesday began commemorations marking 20 years since its genocide, with a flame of remembrance due to make a nationwide tour ahead of the anniversary of the horrific events of 1994.
The flame was to be lit at the main genocide memorial in Kigali by Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, before embarking on a tour of towns and villages in the central African nation, ahead of a period of official mourning that begins on April 7, officials said.
"The flame will be carried by young people," Freddy Mutanguha, country director for Aegis Trust, one of the organizations helping to prepare the lighting ceremony, told AFP.
The flame will for three months be carried from place to place by vehicle and then paraded on foot through each town or village, he added.
An estimated 800,000 people, essentially from the Tutsi minority, perished in the genocide, carried out by Hutu extremist militias and troops in the three months from April to June 1994.
The flame was to be lit at the main genocide memorial in Kigali by Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, before embarking on a tour of towns and villages in the central African nation, ahead of a period of official mourning that begins on April 7, officials said.
"The flame will be carried by young people," Freddy Mutanguha, country director for Aegis Trust, one of the organizations helping to prepare the lighting ceremony, told AFP.
The flame will for three months be carried from place to place by vehicle and then paraded on foot through each town or village, he added.
An estimated 800,000 people, essentially from the Tutsi minority, perished in the genocide, carried out by Hutu extremist militias and troops in the three months from April to June 1994.
