In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in a state-orchestrated genocide, in which Rwandans killed up to a million of their fellow citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi population. The genocide ended later that year when the predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, defeated the national army and Hutu militias, and established an RPF-led government of national unit.
Rwanda is a small country located in central Africa and is approximately the size of Maryland. It has a temperate climate with grassy rolling hills. Rwanda has the occasional drought and suffers from deforestation and the over use of soil from over farming. About half of Rwandans are Catholic while the others are spread among other denominations. There are just over 11,000,000 people in Rwanda with the average age being 18 and the average lifespan being 54 years old. Rwanda has a president and governmental system based on that of Belgium. It is a poor country with about 90% of the population being farmers and thus has to receive substantial financil aid money.
Chris
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