The Rwandan Civil War (1990-1993)
- Outbreak of war (1990)
- Civil war erupted in 1990 between the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the Rwandan government.
- The conflict centered on issues of Tutsi return, power-sharing, and ethnic tensions.
- On October 1, the RPF, composed mainly of Tutsi exiles based in Uganda, launched an attack on Rwanda.
- The war lasted until the signing of the 1993 Arusha Accords.
- Habyarimana regime response
- By this time, the Habyarimana regime had lost legitimacy among many Rwandans.
- The government used the invasion to promote a unifying Hutu identity, portraying the RPF as an external enemy.
- The regime faced growing opposition due to corruption, economic decline, ethnic favoritism, and authoritarian rule.
- Many Rwandans saw the government as illegitimate and unrepresentative of national interests.
Development of the Civil War
- RPF setbacks
- Despite early territorial gains, the RPF was poorly equipped and met fierce resistance.
- Within days, Rwandan government forces, backed by foreign troops and better logistics, managed to push the RPF back into the mountains near the Ugandan border.
- Foreign intervention
- President Mobutu of Zaire (now DRC) quickly sent 600 troops to support President Juvénal Habyarimana’s regime.
- France, citing the defense of Francophone allies and regional stability, also sent around 600 paratroopers under Operation Noroît to protect Kigali and reinforce the Rwandan army.
- Impact of French support
- French troops provided logistical and tactical support, training, and supplies.
- This significantly strengthened government defenses and shifted momentum away from the RPF.
RPF under Paul Kagame
- Retreat and reorganization
- After foreign intervention halted their initial campaign, the RPF retreated and restructured under Paul Kagame’s leadership.
- This pause allowed them to train, reorganize, and adopt guerrilla tactics for a prolonged conflict.
- These changes set the stage for future offensives and the eventual 1994 campaign after the collapse of peace efforts.
- Transformation into a guerrilla army
- Under Kagame’s leadership, the RPF was transformed from a small, disorganized force into an effective guerrilla army of about 15,000.
- Kagame’s military background and his ties to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni strengthened the RPF and ensured its survival.
Government-Directed Repression and the 1991 Bagogwe Massacres:
- Background and repression
- In early 1991, after renewed clashes with the RPF, the Habyarimana regime intensified repression against internal Tutsi populations, portraying them as collaborators or sympathizers.
- A brutal example was the massacre of the Bagogwe, a Tutsi pastoralist subgroup in northwestern Rwanda, between January and March 1991.
- Scale of killings
- Human rights organizations estimated that between 300 and 1,000 Bagogwe civilians were systematically killed.
- The perpetrators included members of the Rwandan army (FAR) and Interahamwe militias.
- Victims were rounded up, tortured, and executed in remote areas, with attempts to hide the killings from international observers.
- Turning point in ethnic violence
- The Bagogwe killings marked a turning point, establishing a tolerated and organized pattern of ethnic violence.
- These massacres served as “trial runs” for later atrocities, showing the state’s willingness to target civilians as a military strategy and highlighting the lack of accountability.
- International reaction
- The international response was minimal, emboldening the regime.
- This set a precedent for larger-scale reprisals that escalated through 1992–1994, culminating in the genocide.
Pressures Leading to the Arusha Accords
- Internal and external pressures on Habyarimana
- The worsening treatment of Tutsis created both internal and external pressure on the Habyarimana regime.
