On 7 may 1997, Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR) units killed over 300 civilians in the villages of the Chanzerwa locality in the Binja groupement. When they arrived in the villages, the soldiers burst into houses and killed an unknown number of civilians with hatchets. They then captured an unknown number of civilians and led them to the village of Buhimba. Having bound and imprisoned them in the main building and courtyard at the church of the 8th CEPAC (Community of Pentecostal Churches in Central Africa), they killed them with blows of hoes to the head. Those who tried to escape were shot dead.
The bodies were then thrown into the latrines, not far from the church. The APR troops indiscriminately killed men, women and children. Most of the victims were Congolese Hutu civilians aka Banyarwanda, but many Nande were also massacred at Buhimba. According to several survivors, the AFDL/APR soldiers killed several children by dashing their heads against walls or tree trunks. In all, 334 victims were recorded.