The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)

The Rwandan Patriotic Front was created in 1987 in a Tutsi refugee camp in Uganda. The first Tutsis fled to Uganda in 1959 to escape the ethnic cleansing. On October 1^st 1990 the RPF left the Ugandan army and invaded northern Rwanda on a liberation movement. They worked toward Kigali the capital of Rwanda but soon had to turn back so they could help French troops reinforce the Habyarimana regime. They suffered a major set back when Rwigema was killed on the second day of war but they pushed on. The RPA regrouped under Kagame and began a classic insurgency campaign. They finally struck a peace agreement where they signed the Arusha Accords on August 4 1993. Arusha Accord ensured that there was power – sharing in the government.  everything was destroyed when Rwandan president Habyarimana was assassinated on April 6, 1994. By the evening of April 7 1994 the Rwandan Patriotic Front was under attack. The RPF attacked southward toward the capital of Kigali while another force moved clockwise to take control of the countryside. By July 4 1994 the RPF had taken control of Kigali. And by August 21, 1994 the RPF was given complete control of the country