Rwanda

The republic of rwanda has had one of the bloodiest histories of any modern nation. Under administration by a harsh Belgian colonial authority in the early 20th century, a minority ethnic Tutsi population was kept in place to rule over a majority ethnic Hutu (and lower class Tutsi) population. In 1959, the Hutus overthrew the ruling Tutsi king, setting off a slaughter that resulted in the deaths of several thousand Tutsis and forcing another 150,000 thousand into exile. Rwanda's independence from Belgium in 1962 did little to check the ethnic cleansing. In 1990 the children of exiled Rwandans formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front and launched the country into civil war. Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus became the victims of genocide in April 1994.

Although the ...