Did any UN soldiers die in the Rwandan Genocide, and if so, how many?

by Bugsly
MootMute

The only I know of are ten Belgian commandos who were tasked with protecting prime minister Uwilingiyimana. After the assassination of presidents Habyarimana and Ntaryamira, then prime minister of Rwanda Agathe Uwilingiyimana was next in line of political succession. Not everyone supported her claim to power, with many military figures preferring another solution. Uwilingiyimana planned on appearing on Radio Rwanda and calling for calm. Due to the tense situation, General Dallaire - the commander of the UNAMIR forces in the country - sent fifteen peacekeepers to act as bodyguards. There were ten Belgian commandos and five Ghaian troops.

Unfortunately, the bodyguards ended up being necessary. The presidential guard surrounded Uwilingiyimana's house and ordered the peacekeepers to lay down their arms. After two hours of fire - during which the UN troops supposedly didn't return fire, due to the unclear legality of this - they surrendered. This turned out to be a mistake. The five Ghaians were let go, but the Belgian paras were tortured and then killed, quite brutally.

Uwilingiyimana and her husband were captured and shot when trying to escape during the fighting. This happened on the 7th of April 1994, the official start of the genocide. I imagine there were more casualties before the genocide was over, however.