The Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development,the then-ruling party of Rwanda,and enjoyed the backing of the Hutu Power government. The Interahamwe,led by Robert Kajuga,were the main perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide,during which an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi,Twa,and moderate Hutus were killed from April to July 1994,and the term "Interahamwe" was widened to mean any civilian militias or bands killing Tutsi.
The provinces of Rwanda are divided into districts (akarere) and municipalities (umujyi). Prior to January 1,2006,Rwanda was composed of 12 provinces. The Rwandan government decided to establish new provinces in an attempt to address issues that arose from the Rwandan genocide. The new provinces were to be "ethnically-diverse administrative areas".
Agathe Uwilingiyimana,sometimes known as Madame Agathe,was a Rwandan political figure. She served as Prime Minister of Rwanda from 18 July 1993 until her assassination on 7 April 1994,during the opening stages of the Rwandan genocide. She was also Rwanda's acting head of state in the hours leading up to her death.
Augustin Bizimungu is a Rwandan convicted war criminal and former general of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR). On 16 April 1994,at the start of the genocide against the Tutsi,he was appointed chief of staff of the army and promoted to the rank of major general. In 2011,he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the Rwandan genocide.
The failure of the international community to effectively respond to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has been the subject of significant criticism. During a period of around 100 days,between 7 April and 15 July,an estimated 500,000-1,100,000 Rwandans,mostly Tutsi and moderate Hutu,were murdered by Interahamwe militias.
Protais Zigiranyirazo commonly known as Monsieur Zed,is a Rwandan businessman and politician and was governor of the Ruhengeri prefecture in northwestern Rwanda from 1974 to 1989. Zigiranyirazo was a member of the Akazu,an elite circle of relatives and friends of former President Juvénal Habyarimana who pushed the Hutu Power ideology.
Jean Kambanda is a Rwandan former politician who served as the Prime Minister of Rwanda in the caretaker government from the start of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He is the only head of government to plead guilty to genocide,in the first group of such convictions since the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into effect in 1951.
The Akazu was an informal organization of Hutu extremists whose members contributed strongly to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. A circle of relatives and close friends of Rwanda's then-president Juvénal Habyarimana and his influential wife Agathe Habyarimana,they were also called the Zero Network,for their goal of a Rwanda with zero Tutsi.
Marcel Gatsinzi was a Rwandan soldier and politician,who was Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs from 2010 to 2013. Gatsinzi also served as Rwanda's Minister of Defence from 2002 to 2010. An ethnic Hutu from Butare,Gatsinzi was a member of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR),which was the national army prior to the takeover of Rwanda by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Paul Barril is a former officer of the French Gendarmerie Nationale. He authored several books about his military career,touching sensitive political subjects of the Mitterrand era.
Charles Munyaneza is a Rwandan man living in the Putnoe area of Bedford,England.
Alison Des Forges was an American historian and human rights activist who specialized in the African Great Lakes region,particularly the 1994 Rwandan genocide. At the time of her death,she was a senior advisor for the African continent at Human Rights Watch. She died in a plane crash on 12 February 2009.
Georges Anderson Nderubumwe Rutaganda was a Rwandan convicted war criminal and the second vice-president of the Rwandan Hutu militia Interahamwe. Rutaganda played a crucial role in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Prosecutor James Stewart stated that "Without Georges Rutaganda,the Rwandan genocide would not have functioned the way it did." He was on radio RTLM in Kigali in 1994,encouraging Interahamwe Militia to exterminate all Tutsis. It was alleged that Rutaganda captured,raped,and tortured Tutsi women in Interahamwe hideouts in Kigali. Other accounts state that Rutaganda captured Tutsi prostitutes,believing them to be witches.
Gisenyi Province was one of the 12 provinces of Rwanda prior to 2006. It is now part of the Western Province.
Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana was a Rwandan academic and politician who served as the Prefect of Butare and was killed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was the only Tutsi prefect at the time of the genocide,and also the only prefect belonging to the Liberal Party. He had resisted the genocide.
Eliézer Niyitegeka was a journalist,former politician,and high level participant in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. After studying journalism in Romania,Niyitegeka became first a journalist and presenter with Radio Rwanda and subsequently a Member of Parliament,then executive in a textile company and businessman. In 1991,with the coming of multi party democracy to Rwanda,he was one of the founding members of the opposition party,the Republican Democratic Movement (MDR). MDR advocated democracy,individual freedoms,the reunion of Rwandans regardless of ethnic considerations,and the end of violence. Its motto,as shown in the party's statute,was:"Liberty,Justice and Work. From 1991 till 1994,he was President of the MDR in Kibuye prefecture. Niyitegeka also held a seat in the national political headquarters of his party.
Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe (1938–2006) was a Rwandan officer who fled Rwanda in 1980 amidst accusations that he was plotting against Juvénal Habyarimana.
Laurien Ntezimana is a Rwandan Catholic theologian,sociologist and peace activist known for protecting Tutsi during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
Timothy Paul Longman is a professor of political science and international relations at Boston University. A protege of Alison Des Forges,he is recognized as one of the top authorities on the Rwandan genocide and its legacies.
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the highest-ranked officer in the Rwanda Defence Force.
Rwanda 
