The struggle for liberation : a history of the Rwandan Civil War 1990-1994 / John Burton Kegel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kegel, John Burton, Author.

Series:

War and militarism in African history

War and Militarism in African History

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rwanda--History--Civil War, 1990-1993.

Rwanda.

Rwanda--History--Civil War, 1994.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Other Title:

Path to Open

Place of Publication:

Athens, OH : Ohio University Press, 2025.

Summary:

"The story of the Rwandan Genocide has been told many times by scholars and journalists. Over the course of a hundred days in the spring and summer of 1994, about eight hundred thousand Tutsi and moderate Hutu were murdered by their extremist Hutu compatriots. Those hundred days were the final phase of a four-year civil war, also known as the Struggle for Liberation, which formed the immediate context of the genocide. Though scholars have researched preparations for the genocide and the international community's role in it, none has placed the Struggle for Liberation at the heart of the narrative. However, the preparation of the genocide, the rise and fall of the moderate opposition, the degradation of the Forces armées rwandaises (FAR) from a respected fighting force to a genocidal militia, the role of the international community, the Arusha negotiations, and the execution of the genocide all took place in the context of that war. John Burton Kegel contends that the Struggle for Liberation forms the bedrock of any genuine understanding of Rwanda between 1990 and 1994, and indeed beyond. The Struggle for Liberation, which eventually led to the genocide, was fought between the FAR and the civilians and soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). The civil war started on October 1, 1990, when the RPF entered Rwanda from Uganda, where Rwandan refugees had lived throughout the Great Lakes region since roughly 1959. This book traces the history of those refugees-and Rwanda's deeper Hutu-Tutsi divide-from the precolonial period up to 1990. It also provides a wholly new take on how the disciplined RPF, which rules Rwanda to this day, was born and organized"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

A neglected topic

The origins of Rwanda, c.1550-1959

The social revolution and independence, 1959-1964

From Kayibanda to Habyarimana, 1959-1990

The story of the RPF : exile, organisation and armed return, 1964-1990

The start of the struggle for liberation, October 1990

Forging the RPA, November 1990-January 1991

The FAR : "only slightly interested in the profession of arms," January-October 1991

Multiparty politics and the Battle of Agasentimita, August 1991-July 1992

A struggle for peace, July 1992-March 1993

"Cry 'havoc!'" February 1993-March 1994

The campaign against genocide, April-July 1994.

Notes:

Title from online title page (viewed on May 20, 2025).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780821426289

0821426281

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.