Editing Rwandan Genocide (section)

==Background==
===Origins of the tension between Hutus and Tutsis===
During the period when Rwanda was a Belgian colony, the Tutsi ruled the region on Belgium's behalf. Belgium considered Tutsis to be genetically superior to Hutus, and often the ruling Tutsi elite would take Hutus as slaves. This practice continued for many years.<ref name = difference>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/africa-july-dec99-rwanda_10-08#:~:text=Generally%20speaking%2C%20Hutus%20were%20an,some%20four%20hundred%20years%20ago. The Heart of the Hutu-Tutsi Conflict], ''PBS Newshour''</ref>

In the 1960's, the Hutus rebelled against colonial rule, with [[Grégoire Kayibanda]] and his [[Parmehutu]] party eventually taking power.<ref>[https://www.onwar.com/data/rwanda1959.html Revolution in Rwanda 1959-1961], ''OnWar.com''</ref> The Parmehutu regime perpetrated numerous mass killings against Tutsis during their years in power, planting the seeds for the tension between the two ethnic groups.<ref name = roots>[https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/06/10/roots-of-rwanda-genocide/?lp_txn_id=1427539 The Roots of Rwanda’s Genocide], ''The New York Review''</ref>

Also, in neighbouring Burundi, [[Michel Micombero]], a Tutsi, seized power in 1966. During his years in power, Burundian Hutus were persecuted and discriminated against, which encouraged anti-Tutsi sentiment in Rwanda. This was increased when Micombero perpetrated the genocide known as the ''[[Ikiza]]'' in an attempt to eliminate Burundi's Hutu population.<ref>[https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/burundi-killings-1972.html The Burundi Killings of 1972], Sciences Po</ref> Anti-Tutsi sentiment further grew in 1993 when [https://real-life-heroes.fandom.com/wiki/Melchior_Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye], Burundi's first Hutu President, was assassinated by Tutsi hardliners within the army.<ref>[https://www.theafricareport.com/144924/burundi-who-benefited-from-the-killing-of-president-melchior-ndadaye/ Burundi: Who benefited from the killing of President Melchior Ndadaye?], ''The Africa Report''</ref>

===Rwandan Civil War===
In 1990, the [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees under command of General [[Paul Kagame]], invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda in an attempt to defeat the Hutu-led government.<ref name = difference></ref> This sparked a [[Civil War|civil war]] in the country, fought between the Hutu regime of President Habyarimana, with support from Francophone Africa and France, and the RPF, with support from Uganda.<ref name = roots></ref> This exacerbated ethnic tensions in the country. In response, many Hutus gravitated toward the racist [[Hutu Power]] ideology (which asserted that Hutus were superior to Tutsis), with the prompting of state-controlled and independent Rwandan media.<ref name = roots></ref><ref name = power>[https://www.blackfacts.com/fact/hutu-power Hutu Power], ''Blackfacts''</ref>

As an ideology, Hutu Power asserted that the Tutsi intended to enslave the Hutu (much like they had during colonial rule) and must be resisted at all costs.<ref name = power></ref> Continuing ethnic strife resulted in the rebels' displacing large numbers of Hutu in the north, plus periodic localized Hutu killings of Tutsi in the south. International pressure on the Hutu-led government of Juvénal Habyarimana resulted in a cease-fire in 1993. He planned to implement the Arusha Accords, which would establish a coalition government between the ruling [[MRND]] party and the RPF.<ref>[https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/arusha-accord-signed-end-civil-war-rwanda The Arusha Accord is signed to end civil war in Rwanda], ''South African History Online''</ref>

===Genocide===
The assassination of Habyarimana in April 1994 set off a violent reaction<ref>[https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-juvenal-habyarimanas-plane-crashes-and-rwandan-genocide-begins TWE Remembers: Juvenal Habyarimana’s Plane Crashes and the Rwandan Genocide Begins], Council on Foreign Relations</ref>, during which Hutu groups conducted mass killings of Tutsis, pro-peace Hutus (who were portrayed as "traitors" and "collaborators"), and the Twa, Rwanda's indigenous pygmy peoples who are often described as the genocide's "forgotten victims."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/25-years-after-genocide-rwanda-commemorates-those-killed--but-omits-one-group-that-was-almost-wiped-out/2019/04/05/afabebb4-557d-11e9-aa83-504f086bf5d6_story.html 25 years after genocide, Rwanda commemorates those killed — but omits one group that was almost wiped out], ''The Washington Post''</ref>

The genocide had been planned by members of the Hutu power group known as the [[Akazu]], a hardline sect of the MRND, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government (including President Habyarimana's own wife); the genocide was supported and coordinated by the national government as well as by local military and civil officials and mass media. 

Alongside the military, the primary responsibility for the killings themselves rests with two Hutu extremist militias that had been organized for this purpose by political parties: the [[Interahamwe]] and [[Impuzamugambi]] (with both militias effectively serving as government-sanctioned [[death squad]]s), although once the [[Genocide|genocide]] was underway a great number of Hutu civilians took part in the [[murder]]s.<ref>[https://www.aeaweb.org/research/mobilization-genocide-elites-rwanda Mobilizing the masses to murder], American Economic Association</ref> [[Looting]] also became commonplace, as was [[rape]] and sexual violence. The level of rape that occurred during the Rwandan Genocide was so high that it has been classified as "[[genocidal rape]]".<ref>[https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/shattered-lives-sexual-violence-during-rwandan-genocide-and-its Shattered Lives: Sexual Violence During the Rwandan Genocide and Its Aftermath], Office of Justice Programs</ref><ref>[http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/89/a-study-in-violence-examining-rape-in-the-1994-rwandan-genocide A Study in Violence: Examining Rape in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide], ''Inquiries Journal''</ref>

These mass killings effectively marked the end of the peace agreement, causing the RPF to restart their offensive. Ultimately, the RPF would emerge victoriously and put an end to the genocide with their capture of the capital city of Kigali in July 1994.<ref name = genocide></ref>

===Aftermath and Legacy===
Some of the ''génocidaires'' that escaped into the Democratic Republic of the Congo would go on to found the [[FDLR|Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda]] (FDLR), a rebel group which fought on behalf of the DRC government under [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]] against official Rwandan Army forces during the early years of the Second Congo War. The FDLR remains active in the DRC as part of the ongoing conflict in the Kivu region.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/cnews-us-rwanda-congodemocratic-fdlr-idCABREA370AU20140408 Decades after genocide, Congo struggles to dislodge Rwanda rebels], ''Reuters''</ref>

The spillover from the genocide would also indirectly lead to the beginning of the First Congo War.<ref>[https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/16/congo The roots of war in eastern Congo], ''The Guardian''</ref>

Rwanda today has two public holidays commemorating the incident, with Genocide Memorial Day on April 7<sup>th</sup> marking the start, and Liberation Day on July 4<sup>th</sup> marking the end. The week following April 7<sup>th</sup> is designated an official week of mourning.

One global impact of the Rwandan Genocide is that it served as the impetus to the creation of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, so that ''ad hoc'' tribunals would not need to be created for future incidents of genocide, [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crimes]]. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC and was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on July 17<sup>th</sup>, 1998. The ICC would begin functioning in July 2002.<ref>[https://www.aba-icc.org/about-the-icc/evolution-of-international-criminal-justice/ Evolution of International Criminal Justice], ''International Criminal Court Project''</ref>