Hundreds of participants and officials who were taking part in the recently concluded ANOCA Zone V Youth Games joined mourners in Huye District on Sunday evening to mark the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The night vigil, at Huye Stadium, was preceded by a ‘Walk to Remember’ from the University of Rwanda’s College of Arts and Social Sciences (UR-CASS).

The inaugural edition of the regional (Eastern Africa) youth games concluded Saturday where Rwanda finished fourth behind France, Kenya and Eritrea.

Also, the flame of remembrance was lit at yesterday’s event and will burn for the next 100 days.

The youth games, which started on April 2, attracted around 350 athletes from twelve countries, vying for medals in five different disciplines; beach volleyball, taekwondo, 3x3 basketball, athletics and cycling.

Rwandan athletes won a total of twenty-two (4 gold, 9 silver, 9 bronze) medals across the five sports.

Besides the host nation, Rwanda, the other eleven countries that were represented included Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Egypt will host the 2021 edition of the now-biennial event, which is designed for Under-18 athletes.

William Blick, president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Zone V, rallied the youth to become good ambassadors to fight genocide denial.

The themed message of this year’s competitions was the promotion of unity, peace and social cohesion.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com