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OnThisDay, April 21, 1994, during the Rwandan Genocide, the United Nations ordered 94% of troops to leave.

#OnThisDay, April 21, 1994, during the Rwandan Genocide, the United Nations ordered 94% of troops to leave. 


However, Ghana’s contingent of 454 soldiers disregarded the order and stayed throughout the genocide. By standing their ground, they helped save about 30,000 lives.

While back in Ghana, their General, Henry Kwami Anyidoho, met with President Jerry Rawlings, who scolded and questioned him about what he should have told the country if all their troops had been killed in Rwanda.

Rawlings then asked the General what kept him and his men going during the genocide.

“Sir, there are certain things that happen in life that are unexplainable. We were in a situation where we had to act according to the dictates of our conscience…That we wouldn’t die (we didn’t lose too many soldiers operating) under those circumstances, it could only be an act of God,” General Anyidoho said. 

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