List of wars involving Rwanda

Last updated June 30, 2025

This is a list of wars involving Rwanda.

Conflict	Rwanda and allies	Opponents	Results	Ruler of Rwanda
Battle of Shangi (1896)	Kingdom of Rwanda	Congo Free State	Congo Free State victory	Mibambwe IV
Ndungutse's rebellion (1912)	German Empire Kingdom of Rwanda German East Africa	Ndungutse's coalition	Victory of Germany and the Rwandan monarchy	Yuhi V
Rwandan Revolution (1959–1961)	Kingdom of Rwanda	Parmehutu	Regime change Rwanda became a republic ^[1]	Kigeli V
Bugesera invasion (1963)	Rwanda Belgium	Inyenzi	Rwandan government victory Anti-Tutsi massacres in Rwanda	Grégoire Kayibanda
Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994)	Rwanda Zaire (1990) France	Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)	Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) victory	Juvénal Habyarimana
First Congo War (1996–1997)	AFDL Rwanda Uganda ^[2] Burundi ^[3] Angola ^[3] SPLA ^[4] Eritrea ^[5] Supported by: South Africa ^[6] Zambia ^[7] Zimbabwe ^[6] Ethiopia ^[8] Tanzania United States (covertly)^[9] Mai-Mai ^[a]	Zaire FAZ White Legion Sudan ^[4] Chad ^[10] Ex-FAR/ALiR Interahamwe CNDD-FDD ^[11] UNITA ^[12] ADF ^[13] FLNC ^[14] Supported by: France Central African Republic China ^[15] Israel ^[15] Kuwait (denied)^[15] Contents Notes References Sources Mai-Mai ^[a]	AFDL victory Overthrow of the Mobutu regime Zaire renamed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Installation of Laurent-Désiré Kabila as president Beginning of Second Congo War	Pasteur Bizimungu
Second Congo War (1998–2002)^[19]	Rwandan-aligned militias: RCD RCD-Goma Banyamulenge Ugandan-aligned militias: MLC Forces for Renewal UPC Other Tutsi-aligned forces Anti-Angolan forces: UNITA Foreign state actors: Uganda Rwanda Burundi Libya (alleged)^[20]	Pro-government: DR Congo Angola Chad Namibia Zimbabwe Sudan (alleged) Anti-Ugandan forces: LRA ADF UNRF II FNI Anti-Rwandan militias: FDLR ALiR Interahamwe RDR Mai-Mai Other Hutu-aligned forces Anti-Burundi militias: CNDD-FDD FROLINA	Military stalemate Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila Sun City Agreement Creation of a unified, multi-party government in DR Congo, with Joseph Kabila as president Pretoria Accord; Rwandan withdrawal from DR Congo in exchange for commitment towards the disarmament of Hutu militias. The Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is established, deployment of MONUC. End of the Angolan Civil War. Continuation of the Ituri conflict. Start of the Kivu conflict.	Paul Kagame
Eastern Congo Offensive (2009)	DR Congo Rwanda	FDLR Mai-Mai	DRC/Rwandan victory
Dongo Rebellion (2009)	Democratic Republic of the Congo Supported by: MONUC Rwanda (alleged)	Lobala rebels Possibly: Resistance Patriots of Dongo	Victory DR Congo recaptures Dongo ^[21]
Central African Republic Civil War (2020–)	Central African Republic Central African Armed Forces MINUSCA (since 2014) Rwanda (since 2020) Russia (since 2018)^[22] Wagner Group ^[23] Russian Imperial Movement ^[24] Black Russians ^[25] Azande Ani Kpi Gbe ^[26] Formerly: France (2013–2021)^[27]	Coalition of Patriots for Change (since 2020) Anti-balaka 3R UPC FPRC MPC PRNC CMSPR (since 2024)^[28] Support: Chad (alleged)^[29] RSF ^[30]	Ongoing Rwandan intervention in 2020^[22]
Insurgency in Cabo Delgado (2021–)	Mozambique Rwanda (from 2021)^[31] Southern African Development Community (from 2021) South Africa Botswana Lesotho Tanzania Angola Zambia Malawi DRC Namibia	Ansar al-Sunna Islamic State Bandits^[32]	Ongoing Mozambican and Rwandan troops launch counteroffensive, taking back many towns and cities

Notes

1 2 Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[16] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[17] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[18]

References

↑ Crowder, edited by Michall (1984). The Cambridge history of Africa : volume 8, from c. 1940 to c. 1975 (Repr. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521224098.
↑ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.
1 2 Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.
1 2 Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.
↑ Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.
1 2 "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa
↑ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.
↑ Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.
↑ Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.
↑ Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.
↑ Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.
↑ Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.
↑ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.
↑ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.
1 2 3 Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.
↑ Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.
↑ Prunier (2009), p. 130.
↑ Prunier (2009), p. 143.
↑ The Second Congo War lasted until 18 July 2003, but Rwanda withdrew in 2002 following the Pretoria Accord.
↑ "DRC asks UN to stop Libyan 'invasion'". Mail & Guardian. 13 December 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
↑ DR Congo's armed forces enter troubled Dongo area, Xinhua, 15 December 2009, archived from the original on May 15, 2011.
1 2 Rwanda deploys troops to CAR under bilateral arrangement, The East African, Dec 22, 2020. Accessed Dec 28, 2020.
↑ "Central African troops and Russian mercenaries accused of abuses in anti-rebel offensive". The New Humanitarian. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
↑ Sahinkaya, Ezel; Galperovich, Danila (9 May 2020). "Radical Russian Imperial Movement Expanding Global Outreach". Voice of America . Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
↑ L’incroyable constellation des groupes armés en Centrafrique Archived 29 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine , 27 July 2023
↑ Ndeke Luka, Ndeke Luka (2 May 2024). "Centrafrique : des miliciens A Zandé Ani Kpi Gbé intègrent les rangs des Faca à Obo". radiondekeluka.org. Radio Ndeke Luka. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
↑ France suspends military, budgetary support to Central African Republic Archived 20 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine , 8 June 2021
↑ Centrafrica, Centrafrica (25 November 2024). "La rébellion d'Armel SAYO attaque un poste des FACA à Boulo". centrafrica.com. Centrafrica. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
↑ "Chad Sends More Troops to CAR Border". Defense Post. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
↑ "Sudan paramilitary funnelling weapons into Central African Republic, UN report reveals". 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
↑ "Rwanda Sends 1,000 Soldiers, Police to Fight Mozambique Militants". Voice of America. 9 July 2021.
↑ "Beheadings, kidnappings amid surge in Mozambique attacks: UN". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.

Sources

Plaut, Martin (2016). Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa's Most Repressive State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-066959-1.
Prunier, Gérard (July 2004). "Rebel Movements and Proxy Warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986-99)". African Affairs. 103 (412): 359–383. doi:10.1093/afraf/adh050. JSTOR 3518562.
Prunier, Gérard (2009). Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-970583-2.
Reyntjens, Filip (2009). The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996-2006. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-11128-7.

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[Mai-Mai-10] 1 2 Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[16] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[17] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[18]

[1] Crowder, edited by Michall (1984). The Cambridge history of Africa : volume 8, from c. 1940 to c. 1975 (Repr. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521224098.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–376-2] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.

[WashingtonPostApril15-3] 1 2 Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004376–377-4] 1 2 Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.

[FOOTNOTEPlaut201654–55-5] Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.

[icg-6] 1 2 "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens200965–66-7] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.

[8] Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009118,_126–127-9] Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.

[chad-11] Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009116–118-12] Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.

[13] Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–377-14] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112–113-15] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112-16] 1 2 3 Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009117,_130,_143-17] Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009130-18] Prunier (2009), p. 130.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009143-19] Prunier (2009), p. 143.

[20] The Second Congo War lasted until 18 July 2003, but Rwanda withdrew in 2002 following the Pretoria Accord.

[21] "DRC asks UN to stop Libyan 'invasion'". Mail & Guardian. 13 December 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2025.

[22] DR Congo's armed forces enter troubled Dongo area, Xinhua, 15 December 2009, archived from the original on May 15, 2011.

[teadec2220202-23] 1 2 Rwanda deploys troops to CAR under bilateral arrangement, The East African, Dec 22, 2020. Accessed Dec 28, 2020.

[TheNewHumanitarian0421-24] "Central African troops and Russian mercenaries accused of abuses in anti-rebel offensive". The New Humanitarian. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

[RIM_Outreach-25] Sahinkaya, Ezel; Galperovich, Danila (9 May 2020). "Radical Russian Imperial Movement Expanding Global Outreach". Voice of America . Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[one-26] L’incroyable constellation des groupes armés en Centrafrique Archived 29 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine , 27 July 2023

[27] Ndeke Luka, Ndeke Luka (2 May 2024). "Centrafrique : des miliciens A Zandé Ani Kpi Gbé intègrent les rangs des Faca à Obo". radiondekeluka.org. Radio Ndeke Luka. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.

[28] France suspends military, budgetary support to Central African Republic Archived 20 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine , 8 June 2021

[29] Centrafrica, Centrafrica (25 November 2024). "La rébellion d'Armel SAYO attaque un poste des FACA à Boulo". centrafrica.com. Centrafrica. Retrieved 28 November 2024.

[30] "Chad Sends More Troops to CAR Border". Defense Post. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

[31] "Sudan paramilitary funnelling weapons into Central African Republic, UN report reveals". 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2020.

[Voice_of_America-32] "Rwanda Sends 1,000 Soldiers, Police to Fight Mozambique Militants". Voice of America. 9 July 2021.

[jazeera-33] "Beheadings, kidnappings amid surge in Mozambique attacks: UN". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.

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v t e Lists of wars involving African countries
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

List of wars involving Rwanda

Contents

Notes

References

Sources