1. Machetes: Machetes were the primary weapon used in the genocide. The assailants armed with machetes carried out gruesome and efficient massacres, hacking victims to death on a mass scale.
2. Clubs and Blunt Objects: In addition to machetes, clubs and other blunt objects, such as sticks and rocks, were commonly used to bludgeon victims.
3. Guns and Firearms: Firearms, including assault rifles, handguns, and shotguns, were utilized by the génocidaires to shoot and kill Tutsi individuals en masse.
4. Hand Grenades: Hand grenades were another lethal weapon used to kill large groups of Tutsi people.
5. Burning: Perpetrators set Tutsi homes, churches, and other buildings on fire, trapping and burning occupants, resulting in their deaths.
6. Drowning: Some Tutsi were brutally forced into rivers or lakes and drowned.
7. Throwing Victims from Heights: In various instances, Tutsi were mercilessly thrown from tall hills or structures, causing fatal injuries upon impact.
8. Sexual Violence and Mutilation: In addition to direct killings, rampant sexual violence against Tutsi women and girls occurred, often accompanied by physical torture and mutilation.
The sheer volume of violence resulted in an estimated loss of about 800,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi lives within a very short timeframe, rendering the Rwandan genocide one of the darkest and most devastating mass atrocities of modern history.
