Rwandan officials say mass graves still being found, almost 30 years after genocide

A Rwandan official said Thursday (Jan. 25) that the remains of 119 people believed to be victims of the 1994 genocide have been discovered in the country’s south, as authorities continue to find mass graves nearly three decades after the killings.

The remains of more victims continue to be found because perpetrators of the genocide tried their best to hide possibly incriminating information, Naphtal Ahishakiye, executive secretary of the genocide survivors’ organization Ibuka, told The Associated Press.

In October, authorities first found six bodies under a house that was being built in Huye district. They have since found more bodies there after investigating further, he said.

In April, Rwanda will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu who were not extremists were killed by Hutu extremists.

Louise Uwimana, a genocide survivor and resident of Huye district, said she was saddened to learn that her neighbors had concealed information about mass graves at a time when the government is encouraging reconciliation.

When genocide perpetrators conceal information, she said, “I question this thing called reconciliation.”

A National Unity and Reconciliation Commission was created in the eastern African country in 1999.

In the years following the genocide, more than 120,000 people were detained and accused of bearing criminal responsibility for their participation in the killings.