Mbaye Diagne (18 March 195831 May 1994) was a Senegalese military officer who served in Rwanda as a United Nations military observer from 1993 to 1994. During the Rwandan genocide, he undertook many missions on his own initiative to save the lives of civilians.
Diagne was born in Senegal. After graduating from the University of Dakar, he enrolled in the Senegalese Army's École Nationale des Officiers d'Active. He completed his schooling the following year and eventually attained the rank of captain. He was given command of the 3rd Company of the 6th Infantry Battalion and fought in the Casamance conflict from 1989 to 1993.
That year, Diagne was sent to Rwanda as part of an Organisation of African Unity military observer team tasked with monitoring the Rwandan Civil War, a conflict fought between the Hutu-dominated government and the Tutsi-led Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). Later, he was assigned to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), a UN peacekeeping force meant to oversee the implementation of the Arusha Accords—a peace agreement designed to end the war. In April 1994, the President of Rwanda was killed. Hutu extremists initiated the Rwandan genocide, targeting members of the Tutsi ethnic minority. They murdered moderate Hutu Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, and Diagne rescued her children and secured them safe passage out of the country. He then undertook numerous missions on his own around Kigali in violation of the UN's rules of engagement, hiding Tutsis in his car and evacuating them to UN installations. He also protected some Hutus and worked to safeguard the Senegalese expatriate community. Various estimates exist for the number of lives Diagne saved, ranging as high as over 1,000.
On 31 May 1994, Diagne was killed when a mortar shell launched by RPF forces exploded near his car while he was stopped at a government checkpoint. His death led the UN to suspend relief operations in Kigali. His body was repatriated to Senegal and buried with full military honours. In 2005, Diagne was posthumously awarded the rank of Knight in Senegal's National Order of the Lion. The UN Security Council created the Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage in 2014 in his honour.
Early life
Mbaye Diagne was born on 18 March 1958 in Koki, Louga region, Senegal. His first language was Wolof, but he learned to speak others, including English and French. He grew up in Pikine, a suburb of Dakar. He married Yacine Mar Diop and had a son, Cheikh, and a daughter, Coumba, with her.
Military career
Senegalese service
In January 1983, Diagne enrolled in the École Nationale des Officiers d'Active (National School for Active Officers). He graduated in July 1984 and was made head of section of the 12th Training Battalion of the Senegalese Army. In 1985, he was made promotion encadreur (organiser) at the Ecole Nationale des Sous-Officiers d'Active (National School of Active Non-Commissioned Officers). Diagne was then reassigned to UNAMIR On 6 April 1994, the plane carrying the President of Rwanda, Juvénal Habyarimana, was shot down. Soon thereafter the civil war resumed while Hutu extremists moved to seize power and began the Rwandan genocide, targeting members of the Tutsi ethnic minority. The Interahamwe, a Hutu extremist militia, erected roadblocks across the Rwandan capital, Kigali, to screen for Tutsis. Later that morning UNAMIR Force Commander General Roméo Dallaire—also investigating Uwilingiyimana's whereabouts—drove down to the compound and encountered Diagne behind the gates. The captain informed him of the prime minister's murder and expressed concern that the Presidential Guard would return and kill the children. Before departing, Dallaire assured Diagne that UNAMIR armoured personnel carriers would arrive later that day to rescue the children and UNDP employees. Diagne chose to wait with the children, but the armoured vehicles never appeared. Diagne then put the children in the back seat of his own vehicle, covered them with clothes, and brought them to the hotel. From there he smuggled the children past numerous Interahamwe checkpoints and brought them to Kigali International Airport where he secured them safe passage on a Canadian plane to Kenya.
thumb|Mbaye brought many of the people he rescued during the genocide to the [[Hôtel des Mille Collines (pictured) for safety.|alt=A great modern accommodation building, with balconies.]]
Despite UN rules prohibiting personnel from intervening in the conflict, it soon became apparent to other UNAMIR personnel that Diagne was ignoring orders and carrying out rescue missions. He paid off militiamen to facilitate the escape of Rwandan employees of UN aid projects. He once spent a full day ferrying 25 Tutsis in his car from a house in Nyamirambo next to a government military base past checkpoints to a safer location. BBC journalist Mark Doyle befriended Diagne and knew of his actions, but omitted mention of him in his news dispatches because he feared that the Rwandan government would learn of his rescues and try to stop him. In one instance, Doyle was riding in Diagne's car when the two were stopped by a Hutu militia. The militiamen questioned whether Doyle was Belgian, since they were suspicious of Belgians. Diagne defused the situation by joking that he was a "black Belgian" before commanding the militia to let them pass.
Various estimates exist for the number of lives Daigne saved. Dallaire credited him with protecting "dozens upon dozens", while Alex stated that he saved "at least hundreds". After five days, Diagne's body was repatriated to Senegal. On 4 July 2010, President of Rwanda Paul Kagame accorded Diagne with the Umurinzi honour—Rwanda's Campaign Against Genocide Medal. The following year the United States Department of State accorded him a Tribute To Persons Of Courage certificate. His family was given the award in May 2016. On 31 May 2019, the Senegalese Army renamed its training centre in Thiès after Diagne.