Sophie Wessex was visibly emotional on Wednesday as she paid her respects to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda.
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The mother-of-two visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where the remains of an estimated 250,000 people are interred.
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She looked at the rows and rows of family photographs of victims, at times even reaching out to touch some of the haunting images.
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Sophie later wrote a personal message in the book of condolence, which she signed simply using her first name.
Sophie visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda
"A very moving and fitting tribute to those who were lost, but with hope for the future," she wrote, signing her message, "Sophie". The Countess also lay a wreath of white roses in tribute.
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In 1994, hundreds of thousands of members of the Tutsi community were slaughtered in Rwanda by ethnic Hutu extremists.
Sophie's message in the book of condolence
In total 800,000 people, including three quarters of the country's minority Tutsi population, died during 100 days of slaughter in Rwanda that year.
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Sophie has been carrying out an official visit to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo - but travelled to Rwanda on Wednesday. She is the very first member of the royal family to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Buckingham Palace confirmed earlier this week.
The Countess was visibly moved during her visit
The trip has focused on addressing the devastating impact of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict while also supporting and empowering survivors and tackling the stigma they face.
Sophie is being accompanied by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Prime Minister's special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict.
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It is a subject close to Sophie's heart. She has campaigned on the issue for many years, travelling to countries including Kosovo, Lebanon, South Sudan and Sierra Leone to meet women peacebuilders and survivors of sexual violence.
Sophie has campaigned against sexual and gender-based violence in conflict for years
In June last year, Sophie spoke about the profound impact of hearing accounts of sexual violence first hand, admitting she had been "in floods of tears".
"When you hear somebody's story of gang rape and literally physically what has happened to them, it absolutely brings you to your knees," Sophie said in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Nada Munchetty.
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