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Machetes and Firearms: The Organization of Massacres in Rwanda

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  • Philip Verwimp

    (Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, and Households in Conflict Network, p.verwimp@hicn.org)

Abstract

This article is a quantitative study of the use of machetes and firearms during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Kibuye Prefecture. The machete is an agricultural tool owned by most Rwandan households and is believed to have been the prime instrument of killing during the genocide. The article addresses the question to what extent individual characteristics of victims (gender, age, occupation) and aspects of the Rwandan genocide (location of atrocities, point in time during the genocide) determined the perpetrators’ use of modern rather than traditional weapons to kill individual victims. An original database developed by the organization of the survivors of the genocide (IBUKA) is used. The data were collected from 1996 to 1999 and contain information on the deaths of 59,050 victims. Logistical regression analysis is performed to explain the use of either a traditional weapon or a firearm to kill the victims. The analysis shows that the probability of being killed with a firearm depended on the location where the victim was killed (more particularly, on whether or not the victim was killed in a large-scale massacre); on the commune of residence and the age of the victim; on the number of days after 6 April the victim was killed; and on interaction effects between the latter two variables and the gender of the victim. The importance of individual characteristics, location of atrocities and timing for the use of different kinds of weapons adds to our understanding of the organized nature of the Rwandan genocide.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Verwimp, 2006. "Machetes and Firearms: The Organization of Massacres in Rwanda," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 43(1), pages 5-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:43:y:2006:i:1:p:5-22
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    Cited by:

    1. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Bonnier, Evelina & Poulsen, Jonas & Rogall, Thorsten & Stryjan, Miri, 2015. "Preparing for Genocide: Community Work in Rwanda," Working Paper Series 2015:1, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    3. Bonnier, Evelina & Poulsen, Jonas & Rogall, Thorsten & Stryjan, Miri, 2020. "Preparing for genocide: Quasi-experimental evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Thorsten Rogall & Tatiana Zárate-Barrera, 2020. "Yes They Can: Genocide, Political Participation, and Female Empowerment," HiCN Working Papers 338, Households in Conflict Network.
    5. Christopher Michael Sullivan, 2012. "Blood in the Village: A Local-Level Investigation of State Massacres," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 29(4), pages 373-396, September.
    6. David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2012. "Propaganda and Conflict: Theory and Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide," CID Working Papers 257, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    7. Henrik Urdal & Chi Primus Che, 2013. "War and Gender Inequalities in Health: The Impact of Armed Conflict on Fertility and Maternal Mortality," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 489-510, September.
    8. Coutts, Alexander, 2024. "The age of consequences: Unraveling conflict's impact on social preferences, norm enforcement, and risk-taking," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 48-67.

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