Rwandan Civil War: Causes and Key Events

• The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale conflict in Rwanda between the Rwandan Armed Forces (representing the government) and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
• It occurred from October 1, 1990, to July 18, 1994, and stemmed from the long-standing dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups in Rwanda.

Background

• The Rwandan Revolution in 1959 replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic.
• This revolution forced over 336, 000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
• The RPF was founded by Rwandan refugees in Uganda and led by Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame.
• The RPF became a capable army by the late 1980s.

War Onset and Initial Setbacks

• The war started on October 1, 1990, when the RPF invaded northeastern Rwanda, advancing 60 km (37 mi).
• The RPF suffered a setback when Fred Rwigyema was killed on the second day of the invasion.
• The Rwandan Army, with assistance from France, gained the upper hand, and the RPF was largely defeated by the end of October.
• Paul Kagame took command and withdrew troops to the Virunga Mountains before launching further attacks.

Insurgency and Peace Negotiations

• The RPF initiated an insurgency that lasted until mid-1992.
• Neither side gained a decisive advantage during this period.
• Protests forced President Juvénal Habyarimana to start peace talks with the RPF and domestic opposition parties.
• The Arusha Accords were signed in August 1993, despite disruption from Hutu Power extremists.

Uneasy Peace and Genocide

• An uneasy peace followed the Arusha Accords, with gradual implementation of its terms.
• RPF troops were deployed to Kigali, and the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) was sent.
• The Hutu Power movement gained influence and planned to exterminate the Tutsi population.
• President Habyarimana's assassination on April 6, 1994, triggered the Rwandan genocide.
• Approximately 500, 000 to 1, 000, 000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed in about 100 days.

RPF Resumption of War and Victory

• The RPF resumed the civil war in response to the genocide.
• By mid-June, the RPF had surrounded Kigali and captured it on July 4.
• The war concluded later that month when the RPF seized the last territory held by the interim government.
• The government and genocidaires were forced into Zaire.

Post-War Rwanda

• The RPF gained control of Rwanda, with Paul Kagame as the leader.
• Kagame served as vice president from 1994 and president from 2000.
• The RPF initiated a program to rebuild the country's infrastructure and economy.
• They also brought genocide perpetrators to trial and promoted reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi.
• In 1996, the RPF-led government launched an offensive against refugee camps in Zaire, leading to the First Congo War.
• As of 2025, Kagame and the RPF remain the dominant political force in Rwanda.

Pre-Colonial Rwanda

• The Twa were the earliest inhabitants of Rwanda, settling between 8000 BC and 3000 BC.
• Bantu groups migrated into the region between 700 BC and 1500 AD, clearing forests for agriculture.
• The population coalesced into clans and about eight kingdoms by 1700.
• The Kingdom of Rwanda, ruled by the Tutsi Nyiginya clan, became dominant from the mid-eighteenth century.
• Under King Kigeli Rwabugiri (1853–1895), administrative reforms created a rift between Hutu and Tutsi.
• Reforms included uburetwa (forced labor) and ubuhake (cattle ceding in exchange for service).

Colonial Era

• Rwanda and Burundi were assigned to Germany at the Berlin Conference of 1884.
• Germany established a presence in 1897, ruling through the Rwandan monarchy.
• The colonists favored the Tutsi for administrative roles, seeing them as racially superior.
• Belgian forces took control during World War I and began direct colonial rule from 1926.
• The Belgian administration modernized the economy but increased taxes and imposed forced labor.
• Tutsi supremacy was reinforced by Belgian support, disenfranchising the Hutu.
• In 1935, Belgium introduced identity cards classifying individuals as Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa.

Shift in Power Dynamics

• After 1945, a Hutu counter-elite emerged, seeking the transfer of power from Tutsi to Hutu.
• The Tutsi leadership attempted to negotiate a quick independence but lost Belgian support.
• The Catholic Church shifted, with Flemish clergy sympathizing with the Hutu.
• In November 1959, Hutu riots and arson attacks on Tutsi homes initiated the Rwandan Revolution.
• Belgian Colonel Guy Logiest promoted the Hutu elite and forced King Kigeli V into exile.
• Rwanda became an autonomous republic in 1961 and gained independence in 1962.

Post-Independence Instability

• Over 336, 000 Tutsi fled Rwanda by 1964 to escape Hutu purges.
• Tutsi exiles formed armed groups known as inyenzi (cockroaches) to attack Rwanda.
• The inyenzi attacks were poorly equipped, and the government defeated them, responding with massacres of Tutsi.
• Grégoire Kayibanda led a Hutu republic for a decade, imposing autocratic rule.
• In 1973, Juvénal Habyarimana overthrew Kayibanda in a coup.
• Habyarimana founded the MRND party in 1975, creating a one-party state.

Habyarimana's Rule

• Anti-Tutsi discrimination persisted, but Rwanda experienced economic prosperity and reduced violence.
• A coffee price collapse in the late 1980s led to a power struggle, benefiting the akazu (family of Agathe Habyarimana).
• Habyarimana relied on the akazu to control the northwest, leading to their exploitation of power.
• Economic crisis forced Habyarimana to cut the budget, causing civil unrest.
• Under pressure from France, Habyarimana pledged to introduce multi-party politics but did not act.

Formation of the RPF

• The RPF was founded in 1979 in Uganda, initially known as the Rwandan Refugees Welfare Association.
• It formed due to persecution and discrimination against Tutsi refugees by President Milton Obote's regime.
• Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame joined Yoweri Museveni's rebel Front for National Salvation (FRONASA).
• The NRA, led by Museveni with Rwigyema and Kagame, aimed to overthrow Obote's government.
• RANU was forced into exile in Nairobi in 1981.

Ugandan Bush War and RPF Growth

• In 1982, refugees were evicted from their homes in Uganda and settled in camps, implemented violently.
• Faced with statelessness, many Tutsi refugees joined Museveni's NRA.
• In 1986, the NRA captured Kampala and formed a new government, with Kagame and Rwigyema as senior officers.
• The Bush War inspired Rwigyema and Kagame to consider an attack against Rwanda.
• RANU renamed itself the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in 1987, committing to return refugees to Rwanda.

RPF Leadership and Invasion Plans

• A leadership crisis in 1988 led Fred Rwigyema to take control of the RPF, with Kagame as vice president.
• Bayingana and his supporters attempted an unsupported invasion in late 1989, which was quickly repelled.
• Habyarimana was aware of the Tutsi exiles in the Ugandan Army and raised concerns with Museveni.
• Native Ugandans criticized Museveni for appointing Rwandan refugees to senior positions.
• Kagame and Rwigyema were demoted in 1989, accelerating their invasion plans.
• In 1990, a dispute in southwestern Uganda led to the labeling of all Rwandan refugees as non-citizens.
• Rwigyema and Kagame decided to launch their invasion plans immediately.
• Museveni likely knew of the invasion but did not explicitly support it.
• Museveni ordered Rwigyema to attend an officer training course in the United States, but Rwigyema arranged for Kagame to go instead.

The 1990 Invasion

• On October 1, 1990, fifty RPF rebels crossed from Uganda into Rwanda, killing a customs guard at the Kagitumba border post.
• They were followed by hundreds more rebels, dressed in Ugandan uniforms and carrying stolen weaponry.
• Around 2, 500 of the Ugandan Army's 4, 000 Rwandan soldiers took part, accompanied by 800 civilians.
• Both President Museveni and President Habyarimana were in New York City attending the United Nations World Summit for Children.
• In the first few days, the RPF advanced 60 km (37 mi) south to Gabiro.
• The Rwandan Armed Forces had 5, 200 soldiers, armored cars, and helicopters supplied by France, but the RPF benefited from surprise.
• The Ugandan government set up roadblocks to prevent further desertions and block the rebels from returning.

International Intervention

• Habyarimana requested assistance from France, leading Jean-Christophe Mitterrand to promise troops.
• 600 French soldiers arrived in Rwanda, under the codename Noroît, to protect French nationals and support Habyarimana's regime.
• Belgium and Zaire also sent troops to Kigali, but Belgium withdrew its troops due to political controversy.
• Zairian troops, sent by President Mobutu Sese Seko, fought the RPF but were poorly disciplined and were expelled.
• With French assistance, the Rwandan Army regained ground, pushing the RPF back to the Ugandan border.
• Habyarimana accused Uganda of supplying the RPF.

Government Repression and Ethnic Violence

• The Rwandan government used the attack on Kigali on October 4 as a pretext to arrest over 8, 000 mostly Tutsi political opponents.
• Radio Rwanda aired incitement to ethnic hatred, and a pogrom was organized on October 11 in the Kibilira commune, killing 383 Tutsi.
• Massacres against Tutsi were perpetrated for the first time in nearly twenty years.
• Paul Kagame departed from the United States to take command of the RPF troops after learning of Rwigyema's death.
• He crossed into Rwanda on October 15.

RPF Reorganization and Guerrilla Warfare

• The RPF was in disarray when Kagame arrived, with troop morale low.
• Kagame withdrew most of the army to the Virunga mountains.
• The move to the Virungas took almost a week, aided by permission from President Museveni.
• Some RPF soldiers remained as decoys to carry out small-scale attacks.
• The reorientation toward guerrilla warfare began with a raid on a Rwandan customs post.
• Harsh conditions in the Virungas led to soldiers freezing to death or losing limbs.
• Alexis Kanyarengwe, a Hutu colonel, joined the RPF and was appointed chairman.
• Seth Sendashonga, another Hutu, became the RPF's liaison with Rwandan opposition parties.

Fundraising and Discipline

• Aloisia Inyumba spearheaded a fundraising program in Kampala.
• The RPF received donations from Tutsi exiles and Rwandan businessmen, growing its operational capability.
• Weapons and ammunition were obtained from various sources.
• Kagame maintained tight discipline, enforcing a regimented training routine and conduct rules.
• Personnel who broke these rules were punished, sometimes by death.

The Attack on Ruhengeri

• After three months, Kagame decided the RPF was ready to fight again, targeting Ruhengeri.
• On January 23, RPF fighters attacked the city, taking Rwandan forces by surprise.
• The defending forces were defeated, and the RPF held the entire city, with most civilians fleeing.
• The RPF targeted the prison, but the warden, Charles Uwihoreye, refused to kill the inmates despite orders from Colonel Elie Sagatwa.
• Several prisoners, including Théoneste Lizinde, were recruited into the RPF.
• The RPF undermined the Rwandan Government's claims that they had been ejected.

Resumption of Guerrilla War

• The RPF raided Ruhengeri almost every night for months, battling Rwandan army forces.
• Paul Kagame's troops repeatedly attacked Rwandan Army forces, ensuring the diplomatic and psychological effect of the RPF's resurgence.
• Kagame employed tactics such as attacking simultaneously in up to ten locations across the north of the country.
• Captured the border town of Gatuna, which blocked Rwanda's access to the port of Mombasa via the Northern Corridor.
• Controlled 5% of Rwanda by late 1991, setting up headquarters near Mulindi, Byumba province.

Effects of Renewed Warfare

• Resurgence of violence against Tutsi with Hutu activists killing up to 1, 000 Tutsi in attacks authorized by local officials.
• The akazu began a major propaganda campaign, using the Hutu Ten Commandments, and the RPF opened its own propaganda radio station, Radio Muhabura.
• Under intense pressure, Habyarimana introduced multi-party politics, but progress was hampered.
• Four distinct groups were involved in the peace process: Hutu hardliners, the official opposition, the RPF, and President Habyarimana.
• Habyarimana attempted to remove the radical Hutu faction from senior army positions with limited success.

Intensification of Violence and Collapse of Negotiations

• Delegates at the negotiations in Arusha made some progress in the latter half of 1992.
• The CDR and hardline faction of the MRND reacted violently, killing Tutsi civilians in the Kibuye area.
• Late 1992 is identified as the time when the idea of a genocidal "final solution" was first mooted.
• Situation deteriorated in early 1993 when teams in Arusha signed a full power-sharing agreement, excluding the CDR.
• The violence engulfed the whole north-west of Rwanda and hundreds of Tutsi were killed.
• Paul Kagame ended the six-month ceasefire and resumed the war, citing the violence.

February Offensive and Shifting Alliances

• Increased the rebels' bargaining power at the peace talks for troop allocation.
• The RPF secured an increased number of troops in the agreement.
• Habyarimana requested urgent assistance from France and the French dispatched 150 troops to Rwanda, along with arms and ammunition.
• RPF forces were under attack, by French shells, as they advanced southwards.
• The RPF declared a cease-fire and Kagame said his goal was to inflict as much damage as possible, capture weapons, and gain ground.
• The increased presence of French troops and the loyalty of the Hutu population meant an invasion of Kigali would not have been easy.
• By the end of the February war more than a million civilians, mostly Hutu, had left their homes.
• The cease-fire was followed by negotiations in Kampala where European insisted that RPF forces withdraw to the zone they held before the February offensive.
• This entailed the RPF withdrawing to its pre-February territory, and mandated a demilitarized zone.

Political Maneuvering and Hutu Power

• Habyarimana, supported by the French Government, spent the subsequent months forging a "common front" against the RPF.
• Hardline factions within the parties became known as Hutu Power, which transcended party politics.
• Radical youth militia groups emerged, like the Interahamwe.
• By June President Habyarimana had come to view Hutu Power as the biggest threat to his leadership, giving the Arusha peace process the impetus it needed to draw to a completion.

Arusha Accords and Prelude to Genocide

• Signed on August 4, 1993, and called for a UN peacekeeping force, UNAMIR.
• RPF would station diplomats in Kigali protected by 600–1, 000 RPF soldiers.
• Hutu Power wings of the parties began planning for a genocide.
• President of Burundi, Melchior Ndadaye, was assassinated which reinforced the notion among Hutus that the Tutsi were their enemy.
• Cease-fire ended abruptly on April 6, 1994 with President Habyarimana's plane being shot down.
• Shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, which began within a few hours.

The Rwandan Genocide

• A crisis committee was formed by the military, led by Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, which refused to recognize Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana as leader.
• Uwilingiyimana and her husband were killed, along with ten Belgian UNAMIR soldiers and other politicians and journalists.
• Interim government began ordering the systematic killing of Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu.
• 500, 000 and 1, 000, 000 people were killed in approximately 100 days.

The RPF's Counter-Offensive

• On 7 April, RPF commander Paul Kagame warned the interim government and the United Nations peacekeepers he would resume the civil war if the killing did not stop.
• The RPF refused to talk to the interim government, crossing the demilitarized zone from their territory in the north and began an attack on three fronts.
• Attempted numerous attempts by the United Nations forces to establish a cease-fire, but Kagame insisted each time that the RPF would not stop fighting unless the killings stopped.
• By 16 May they had cut the road between Kigali and Gitarama, the temporary home of the interim government, and by 13 June had taken Gitarama itself
• Encirclement of Kigali was completed, and the RPF spent the latter half of June fighting for the capital, finally defeating the Rwandan Army in Kigali on 4 July, and on 18 July the rest of the north-west.
• RPF victory ended the genocide as well as the civil war.

Aftermath of the Genocide

• In late July 1994 Kagame held all of Rwanda, and 4 July, the Liberation Day, was designated as a public holiday in Rwanda.
• The date of the fall of Kigali, 4 July, was later designated Liberation Day by the RPF and is commemorated as a public holiday in Rwanda.
• UNAMIR Chapter VI mandate rendered it powerless to intervene militarily, but it sheltered Tutsi and moderate Hutu, and assisted with the evacuation of foreign nationals.
• The Belgian Government pulled out in mid-April, and UN conceded that "acts of genocide may have been committed", agreeing to reinforcement.
• The new soldiers started arriving in June, and following the end of the genocide in July they stayed to maintain security and stability, until the termination of their mission in 1996.

Post-Genocide Transition

• The RPF formed a government roughly based on the Arusha Accords, under Paul Kagame as President.
• The military wing of the RPF was renamed as the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA).
• The civil war severely disrupted Rwanda's formal economy creating building damage, asset depletion, and population decline.
• Led to a trauma and loss of relatives to the majority.
• International aid was routed to the refugee camps, while soldiers killed many people they accused of participating in or supporting the genocide.

Development and Reconciliation

• Paul Kagame took over the presidency in 2000 and began a large-scale national development drive as Rwanda began developing strongly on key indicators.
• A period of reconciliation began as well as the establishment of courts for trying genocide suspects
• The genocide led to reconciliation and trust for women in reconstruction as the represented a larger share and not as frequently implicated to the genocide.
• Following the RPF victory, approximately two million Hutu fled to refugee camps in neighbouring countries fearing reprisal, causing disease and rearmament.
• RPF-led Rwandan Government launched a counter-offensive that caused hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee due to both Hutu conflicts and war conflicts.

Congo Wars

• The refugee crisis lead to Kagame dismantling the refugee camps, planning a war to remove Mobutu.
• The Rwandan and Ugandan governments supported an alliance of four rebel groups headed by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, beginning with the First Congo War.
• Rwanda fell out with the new Congolese regime in 1998 supported a fresh rebellion, leading to the Second Congo War, and a UN report accused the Rwandan Patriotic Army of wide-scale human rights violations .