On June 2, 1994, one of the RPA’s most significant humanitarian rescue missions was conducted in Kabgayi, Southern Rwanda. It was an extraordinary feat that demonstrated the RPA’s commitment not only to defeating genocidal forces but also to saving civilians facing immediate danger.
As the freedom fighters conducted major operations on multiple fronts, one of the most significant developments occurred on the Southern Axis, where the RPA’s 157th Battalion carried forward its advancement from Bugesera through Gashora, Rilima, Rwabusoro, Nyanza, Ruhango, and Byimana.
Although the battalion had initially been expected to proceed directly toward Butare following the capture of Nyanza on May 30, 1994, orders from the then RPA’s Chairman of the High Command, Maj. Gen. Paul Kagame, redirected the force toward Kabgayi, where thousands of Tutsis faced imminent extermination by Interahamwe militias and retreating FAR elements.
After only three days of fighting, the 157th Battalion reached Kabgayi on June 2, 1994. Their arrival prevented a major massacre and resulted in the rescue of more than 10,000 Tutsi who had been trapped in the area.
Meanwhile, on the Kigali Front, RPA forces intensified pressure on FAR positions across the capital. The 59th CMF and 21st CMF expanded infiltration operations into Nyamirambo while simultaneously increasing rescue missions for civilians trapped in FAR-controlled sectors.
At the same time, the Alpha CMF recorded additional gains in Gikondo as urban combat continued. The genocidal army increasingly relied on Interahamwe militias as frontline fighters as growing numbers of its soldiers abandoned their positions or deserted altogether. Despite these setbacks, FAR still maintained partial control over western Kacyiru, Kinamba, Nyamirambo, and sections of Gikondo.
The events of June 2, 1994, illustrate both the humanitarian and military dimensions of the liberation struggle. While the 157th Battalion carried out one of the largest civilian rescue operations of the war at Kabgayi, RPA forces in Kigali continued tightening the pressure on increasingly weakened FAR positions, bringing the liberation of the capital closer.
The photo accompanying this update features officers of the historic 157th Battalion. The Commanding Officer was Lt. Col. Fred Ibingira, now a retired General; the Second in Command was Lt. Col. Eric Murokore, now a retired Major General; the Operations and Training Officer was Maj. Mubarakh Muganga, today a General and Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF); the Intelligence Officer was Maj. Wilson Gumisiriza, now a retired Major General; the Political Commissar was Capt. Okwiri Rabwoni, now a retired Major; and the Deputy Political Commissar was the late Lt. Innocent Kabandana, who later rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and served in various capacities within the Rwanda Defence Forces.
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