Mbaye Diagne
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Humanitarian & Peace • Historical Archive • 🇸🇳 Senegal • 0 views

Mbaye Diagne 🇸🇳

Mbaye Diagne
["Army Captain", "UN Peacekeeper", "Humanitarian Hero"]
Born Mar 18, 1958 🇸🇳 Coki, Senegal
Passed Away May 31, 1994 Kigali, Rwanda
Lifespan 36 years old
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"A soldier does not look away when children are being slaughtered."

Archival Overview

Senegalese army captain and UN peacekeeper who unarmed rescued an estimated six hundred to one thousand Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Biographical Record

Mbaye Diagne was an officer in the Senegalese Army deployed as a military observer with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in 1993. When the genocide against the Tutsi erupted in April 1994 and the UN strictly forbade military intervention, Diagne refused to be a passive bystander.

Completely unarmed, Diagne drove repeatedly through deadly militia checkpoints using humor, cigarettes, and moral force to smuggle hidden children and families to the safety of the Hotel des Mille Collines and the UN headquarters. He saved hundreds of innocent lives before being killed by a stray mortar shell on May 31, 1994.

Key Life Milestones

Unarmed Rescues

Rescue of Rwandan Families

Saved up to 1,000 lives by running militia roadblocks unarmed throughout Kigali during the genocide.

UN Medal Created

Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal

The UN Security Council created its highest award for exceptional courage in his honor.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Cimetiere Musulman de Yoff
Dakar, Senegal
GPS: 14.7611, -17.4719
View on Memory Atlas
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