The original inhabitants of the area of modern-day Burundi were probably the Batwa (Twa), a subgroup of the Twide pygmies. The Bahutus compose nearly 85 percent of the population in Burundi. Another group, the Watutsis (also called Tutsis) arrived in the area later but dominated both the Twa and the Bahutus. They composed about 14 percent of the population of Burundi.

The Watutsis dominated the Bahutus for more than four hundred years. They came as invaders and quickly established themselves as the ruling class. The Watutsis were pastoralists (nomads with cattle as their chief commodity and status symbol) and warriors; in time they shaped and controlled a feudal society with the Bahutus at the bottom. The two groups share a common language, Kirundi. Educated members of the two groups, including literate peasants, speak French. The Watutsis regarded themselves as an elite minority, constantly on guard against real and imaginary plots by the Bahutu m

After World War II, Ruanda-Urundi was changed from a League of Nations Mandate to a trust territory under the United Nations. This change had real importance, as the U.N. trust criteria required Belgium to prepare the population for self-rule. This meant majority rule. The new requirement threatened the Watutsi minority and gave the Bahutus hope of doing through representative government what they had been unable to accomplish through armed conflict over the centuries.

By mid-May, President Micombero had sanctioned a policy of selective genocide of educated Bahutus. On May 10, U.S. ambassador Thomas Patrick Melady informed his country's Department of State that the period of civil strife appeared to be over and that what the government was now doing approached an official government policy of selective genocide of elite Bahutus. The Belgian government agreed with Ambassador Melady's assessment. It declared on May 19 that the army was engaging in a "veritable genocide" and demanded that the killings stop.

Growing political awareness among Bahutus and enthusiasm to command Burundi society led to an attempted coup d'état in October, 1965. Watutsi revenge was quick. Attacks on Bahutu leaders and people continued for more than a year. Eighty-six high-ranking Bahutu officials were executed in late 1965; in all, between twenty-five hundred and five thousand Bahutus were killed during this dress rehearsal for a more horrendous genocide of the Bahutu people by Watutsis.

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