The Rwandan genocide was a mass slaughter of the Tutsi people by the Hutu majority in Rwanda. It was estimated that approximately 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed from April 7, 1994 to the middle of July. The genocide was planned by members of the akazu (a core political unit). This mass genocide took place during the Rwandan civil war, a conflict between the Hutu's and the Rwandan Patriotic Front.