1972: The Tutsi-led government killed hundreds of thousands of Hutus
1993: Melchior Ndadaye became president in the first democratic election Burundi had seen. He was later assassinated by Tutsi soldiers.
1994: The presidents of Burundi and Rwanda were killed in a plane crash just outside Kigali, Rwanda. This lead to violence in Rwanda due to rumours that the plain had been shot down. As a result in Burundi, President Sylvestre Nribantunganya took office.
1995: Prime Minister Antoine Nduwayo took office. Thousands of Rwandan refugees, who fled to Burundi only to come across more violence, fled again to sanctuary in Tanzania. They could no longer go to Zaire, as the parliament passed a law that prevented all refugees from Rwanda and Burundi from obtaining Zairean citizenship.
1996: A letter accounting for the massacre of 375 people at the Kivyuka village market by government soldiers, reached Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. The soldiers claimed to be furious over recent rebel attacks on powerline towers. The charges of the soldiers were dropped. However, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya gave his army a week to stop ethnic violence, calling them "paralyzed and useless." The military rebelled and seized power of Burundi and reinstated the former president, Pierre Buyoya. All flights going in and out of the country were cancelled.
1997: Seven African nations eased their embargo on Burundi to try and help their suffering.
1999: 5 soldiers were sentenced to death for the murder of Melchior Ndadaye
2002: Oct 7, In Burundi 2 smaller factions of the main rebel movements signed a cease-fire aimed at ending the 9-year civil war. This was Burundi's first big step toward peace after all of the devastation it had seen.
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