Rwandan Civil War
Civil war that culminated in the 1994 genocide and a regional transformation in Central Africa.
Historical overview
Overview adapted from a Wikipedia summary and stored locally on May 11, 2026.
The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. The Rwandan Revolution, which broke out in 1959, had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.
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Border context
Post-Cold War state breakup
The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia collapse, producing new borders, new states and violent secession wars.
The Balkans and Caucasus become major border-change theaters. The Gulf War restores Kuwait's sovereignty after Iraqi occupation.