A look at Rwanda’s genocide helps explain why ordinary people kill their neighbors

Rather than blindly obeying orders, perpetrators felt a sense of duty

Photographs of Rwandans killed in 1994 genocide

DUTY BOUND KILLINGS  Part of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, these photographs of Rwandans killed in a 1994 mass slaughter put human faces on an unimaginable tragedy. Many factors other than obedience to authorities drove some Rwandans to kill others.

PHOTONONSTOP/ALAMY

A string of state-directed, targeted mass killings left a bloody stain on the 20th century.