Rwanda+History

The kingdoms of Rwanda began to come together in the 11th century. By the 15th century, Rwandans established a monarchy led by Tutsi nobles. In 1894, the first known Europeans visited Rwanda from Germany to gain control. Belgian troops pushed them out and took control of Rwanda. In 1959,three years before independence from Belgium, the Hutus, the majority ethnic group, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. After this occurred, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 were forced into exile into neighboring countries. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group, began a civil war in 1990. The war led to Rwandans killing up to million of their fellow citizens, which included about three-fourths of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended in 1994, when the predominantly Tutsi RPF defeated the national army and Hutu militias. Approximately 2 million Hutu refugees fled to neighboring countries to escape Tutsi retribution. Since the genocide occurred, many of the refugees have returned to Rwanda. Rwanda went on to hold its first election in 1999. The country held their first post-genocide presidential election in 2003. In 2009, Rwanda staged a joint military operation with the Democratic Republic of Congo and joined the Commonwealth.  Information Gathered From: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rw.html http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2861.htm
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**© 2012 Samantha Jean Day - Revised April 25th, 2012 ** **Email: sjday5@ilstu.edu ** **Ph: 309-438-4323 **