The country at the center of the conflict is Rwanda, a small, landlocked nation in East Africa.
Rwanda is home to two main ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Hutu, who make up the majority of the population, traditionally were farmers, while the Tutsi were a pastoralist group. Historically, the two groups lived together in relative harmony, but with the arrival of European colonizers, these distinctions were further emphasized, and often used as a means of control by the colonizers.
The country was first colonized by Germany in 1884, and later, after World War I, it was placed under Belgian control. The Belgians further exacerbated the ethnic divisions in Rwanda, using the Tutsi minority to rule over the Hutu majority. This ultimately set the stage for the genocide that would take place in 1994.
The Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups were the main actors in the conflict, with the Hutu government and military committing the acts of genocide against the Tutsi minority. The international community, including the United Nations, also played a role in their inability to intervene effectively to stop the violence.
The conflict was a genocide in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed by the Hutu government and military. The violence was characterized by widespread killing, rape, and the forced displacement of Tutsi and moderate Hutu.
The genocide began in April 6th, 1994, following the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, in a plane crash. The violence continued for approximately 100 days, until the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by current President Paul Kagame, was able to defeat the Hutu government and military and take control of the country.
The violence occurred throughout Rwanda, but was particularly concentrated in the southern and western regions of the country.
The genocide was rooted in the long-standing ethnic tensions and divisions that had been exacerbated by European colonialism and the Hutu government’s manipulation of these divisions for their own gain. Additionally, extremist Hutu leaders, fueled by anti-Tutsi propaganda, incited and led the violence in order to maintain their own power.
In conclusion, the Rwandan genocide was a horrific and tragic event, caused by a complex web of historical, political, and societal factors. The failure of the international community to intervene effectively to stop the violence is a reminder of the importance of taking action to prevent such atrocities from happening again in the future.