Why UN soldiers in Rwanda were ordered to shoot dogs but not killers

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 2005 film Shooting Dogs captures the harrowing reality of the 1994 Rwandan genocide from the perspective of an English teacher and a priest. Its title refers to a grim irony: UN peacekeepers were forbidden from firing on Hutu extremists, yet they were permitted to shoot stray dogs scavenging the dead.

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, the film is based on the experiences of BBC producer David Belton, who was present in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. Unlike other cinematic portrayals of the conflict, such as the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, Shooting Dogs was filmed on location at the École Technique Officielle (ETO) in Kigali, where the events actually took place. The production even employed survivors of the massacre as crew members and actors, lending the film a visceral, haunting authenticity that critics noted for its palpable tension and urgency.

The narrative centers on Joe Connor, an English teacher, and Father Christopher, a priest, as they navigate the collapse of safety at the ETO. As Hutu mobs surround the school, the Belgian UN contingent under Captain Delon finds itself paralyzed by a restrictive mandate. The film’s title serves as a central metaphor for this bureaucratic failure: while the soldiers could not intervene to stop the slaughter of Tutsis, they were tasked with shooting dogs that fed on the bodies of the victims. This contrast highlights the moral absurdity of the international response, which left peacekeepers as helpless observers to the violence.

The film explores the psychological toll on those caught in the middle, from the journalists who arrive to document the horror to the refugees seeking sanctuary. Father Christopher’s desperate attempts to save children, and the eventual withdrawal of UN forces, underscore the abandonment felt by those trapped in the compound. By the time the film concludes, it provides historical context on the genocide and the specific killings at the ETO, while also sharing the personal stories of the crew members who survived. It remains a stark examination of the limits of peacekeeping and the human cost of international inaction.

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