In 1918 Belgium took over Rwanda and split the people into three entnic groups, Hutus, Tutsis, and Twa. This ethnic splitting was the start of a massive genocide. In 1959 the Hutu rebeled aganist the Tutsis and the Belgiums because the Belgiums put the Tutsis in an higher ranking than the Hutus. The Beligums felt the Tutsis were more European because of their lighterskin and height. Because of this rebellion and the migration of most of the Tutis population, General Juvenal Habyarimana,a Hutu became president of Rwanda. On April 6, 1994 President Habyarimana and Cyprien Nataryarmira were killed when their airplane was shot down. that same night a radio message came from the local Hutu radio station saying that it was time to "Cut down the tall trees!". These 5 simple words started a genocide that over 800,In the genocide over 800,000 thousand to a million people were killed. The massarce lasted for about 100 days from April 6 to mid July.