Civil War In Rwanda Essay, Research Paper

In this essay I will be writing about the civil war in Rwanda. I will be explaining, why it happened, how it happened, when it happened, and give you all the details.

A mountainous country in east central Africa, the Republic of Rwanda lies south of the equator. It is one of Africa’s smallest countries, covering an area of only 10,169 square miles (26,338 square kilometers). Zaire and Lake Kivu border Rwanda on the west, Uganda on the north, Tanzania on the east, and Burundi on the south. Rwanda’s relief consists of a series of hills with steep slopes that often alternate with deep valleys. A chain of volcanoes, the Virunga Mountains, is in the north. Numerous small lakes are scattered in the southeast. It contains a population of 6,700,000 people, which are divided into the three major ethnic groups: Hutus (88%), Tutsis (11%), and Twa pygmies (1%).

The civil war in Rwanda began in April 1994 and ended July 1994. This war was between the Hutus and the Tutsis. They both had different points of view in how to control Rwanda. The Tutsis then began a group called: Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

On April 6, 1994, the airplane carrying President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi was shot down. This gave command to all military and militia groups to kill all of the Tutsis. In this event 800,000 Tutsis were killed. This was one of the reasons for their civil war. Another reason was because they didn t agree in sharing Rwanda in political matters. Rwanda was like a toy both Hutus and Tutsis wanted but couldn t share. This civil war only lasted fourteen weeks.

During this war, 1.7 million Hutus fled Rwanda and found shelter in their neighboring countries: Uguanda, Burubdi, Tanzania, and Zaire. Fleeding from Rwanda also gave problems. In the refugee camps the people had concentrated in huge numbers at barren places with no sanitation, polluted water, and little food. These conditions added to the number of deaths during those fourteen weeks in Rwanda.

From 1996-1997, when Rwanda assured the refugees that the war was over, the Rwandans when back home in very large amounts. Out of the 1.7 million people that fled, 1,100,000 returned. The other 600,000, 100,000 of them stood in their new homes and the 500,000 died. With most of the refugee s back, the government was able to go back to normal life.

In conclusion, as you have read, this civil war lasted fourteen weeks. It all started with an airplane crashing and killing the president of Burundi and Rwanda. The Hutus were angered at this, which led them to killing all the Tutsis. They were only able to kill 800,000 but to them it was a success. Tutsis aswell as Hutus began to fled and entered Zaire, Burundi, Uguanda, and Tanzania for protection. They weren t treated with much respect either. It all ended and they were able to get back to how they were, only that Tutsis took control over the presidency.