The statement that best explains why the Hutu-led government in Rwanda tried to kill the Tutsi population during their civil war is:
The Tutsi-led rebel group was trying to overthrow the government.
This reflects the context of the Rwandan Civil War, where tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups escalated, and the Hutu government perceived the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) as a direct threat to its power. This led to extreme violence and the genocide against the Tutsi population.