Rwanda

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Rwanda is a country in Africa, located near Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Uganda, and Tanzania. The official language is Kinyarwanda. The country has three tribes (though there is debate about whether or not these groups really are tribes): Bahutu, Batutsi and Batwa. It is now known mostly because it is the place where the most efficient genocide in history happened.

[edit] Colonialism

During the Scramble for Africa, Belgium conquered Rwanda. The Belgians then began to divide Rwandans into groups: Bahutu, and Batutsi. The Belgians picked people that they thought looked more European to be abatutsi. The rest became abahutu. The Belgians told Rwandans that Batutsi were superior to Bahutu. They allowed Batutsi to rule over Bahutu.

[edit] Post-Independence

In 1962, Rwanda gained independence and Bahutu were given power. Thus, anti-Tutsi purges occured frequently. Many abatutsi fled to Uganda, where they formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RFP, which tried to invade Rwanda in 1990.

[edit] Genocide

On the night of April 6 1994, dictator Juvénal Habyarimana's plane was shot down, but it is still not clear who did it. Within a half hour, roadblocks manned by the Interahamwe militia were seen all over the capital, Kigali. The Rwandan Genocide had begun. It would last for about 100 days, and it would leave 937,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu dead. The main weapon used was the machete, or umupanga. Other countries paid little attention to the killing. On July 2 1994, the RPF captured Kigali.

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