View source for Rwandan Civil War

[[File:Rwandan Civil War (October 7, 1990).svg|thumb|Detailed map of Rwanda showing the approximate frontlines during early-October 1990, before the FAR counterattack on the initial RPF invasion.]]
[[File:Rwandan Civil War (July 18, 1994).svg|thumb|Detailed map of Rwanda showing the approximate frontlines during mid-July 1994, after the captures of Butare, Ruhengeri, and Gisenyi.]]
The '''[[w:Rwandan Civil War|Rwandan Civil War]]''' was a large-scale [[civil war]] in [[Rwanda]] which was fought between the [[w:Rwandan Armed Forces|Rwandan Armed Forces]], representing the incumbent [[w:Third Rwandese Republic|Third Rwandese Republic]], and the rebel [[w:Rwandan Patriotic Front|Rwandan Patriotic Front]] (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the [[w:Hutu|Hutu]] and [[w:Tutsi|Tutsi]] groups within the Rwandan population. The [[w:Rwandan Revolution|Rwandan Revolution]], which broke out in 1959, had replaced the [[w:Kingdom of Rwanda|Tutsi monarchy]] with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in [[Uganda]] founded the RPF which, under the leadership of [[w:Fred Rwigyema|Fred Rwigyema]] and [[Paul Kagame]], became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

The war began on 1 October 1990, when the RPF invaded north-eastern [[w:Third Rwandese Republic|Rwanda]], advancing {{convert|60|km|abbr=on}} into the country. They suffered a major setback when Rwigyema was killed in action on the second day. The Rwandan Army, assisted by [[w:Expeditionary warfare|expeditionary]] troops from France, gained the upper hand and the RPF were largely defeated by the end of October. Kagame, who had been in the United States during the invasion, returned to take command. He withdrew troops to the [[w:Virunga Mountains|Virunga Mountains]] for several months before attacking again. The RPF began an [[w:insurgency|insurgency]], which continued until mid-1992 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. A series of protests forced Rwandan President [[w:Juvénal Habyarimana|Juvénal Habyarimana]] to begin peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition parties. Despite disruption and killings by [[w:Hutu Power|Hutu Power]], a group of extremists opposed to any deal, and a fresh RPF offensive in early 1993, the negotiations were successfully concluded with the signing of the [[w:Arusha Accords (Rwanda)|Arusha Accords]] in August 1993.

== Quotes ==
* It was terrifying. A lot of people think the killing started in April, but beginning in the 1990s, the Government put it out there, in the media, newspapers, and radio, encouraging and preaching anti-Tutsi propaganda.
**[https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/04/1135902 Henriette Mutegwaraba said]

* It wasn’t only machetes. Any tortuous way you can think about, they used. They raped women, opened pregnant women’s wombs with a knife, and put people in septic holes alive. They killed our animals, destroyed our homes, and killed my entire family. After the genocide, I had nothing left. You could not tell if there was ever a house in my neighbourhood or any Tutsi there. They made sure there were no survivors.
* Something needs to be done. Genocide is preventable. Genocide doesn’t happen overnight. It moves in degrees over years, months, and days, and those orchestrating genocide know precisely what they intend.
**[https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/04/1135902 Henriette Mutegwaraba replies]

== External links ==
{{Wikipedia}}

[[Category:Rwanda]]
[[Category:Civil wars of the 20th century]]