ABSTRACT
The rapid advance made by the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) and the need to re-establish control in Kigali and elsewhere soon reinforced the conviction of both the interim Government and the Rwanda government forces (RGF) that they had to secure a ceasefire as soon as possible. Without giving any formal recognition to the new Government, Major-General Dallaire was willing to act as an intermediary between the parties in an attempt to secure a cease-fire. For the RGF, the ceasefire was a prerequisite to stop the massacres; for the RPF, the cessation of the massacres was a prerequisite to the signing of any cease-fire agreement. The cease-fire finally took place, not with the signing of a formal agreement between the warring parties, but with a RPF unilateral declaration on 18 July 1994 ending the war. The RGF gave the appearance, at least during the first days of the war, that they were positively disposed towards a cease-fire.
