Opération Silver Back

The Operation Silver Back was conducted by Belgium in Rwanda, from 10 to 16 April 1994, parallel to the Operation Amaryllis French, after attack of 6 April 1994. The two operations are intended to evacuate foreigners, mainly Belgians and French, whose lives are threatened during the events of the genocide.

Belgium, during this operation, evacuated more than 1,200 people including 1,000 Belgians and, in extremis, more than 200 Rwandans. The latter, mainly Tutsi, had been turned back by Operation Amaryllis on the tarmac of Kigali airport while access to this airport were guarded by the killers: the head of the French operation, Colonel Henri Poncet, proceeded to the evacuation of Rwandans only from lists of names he held from the French Embassy.