Formation and Impact of the Rwandan Patriotic Front

In 1988, the Tutsis formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front, also known as the RPF. The tribe realized that since their attacks against the Hutus had failed, an army that was based upon the belief of reforming the Rwandan government and creating shared political power would welcome them back into their country. The majority of Tutsis that joined the RPF were those exiled in Uganda. Some of the ranks in the RPF were given to Hutus, but the majority of the army was made up of Tutsi refugees. On the first of October, 1990, the RPF launched a major attack on Rwandan Hutus with over 7,000 fighters. While the RPF thought that they could have helped the Tutsi refugee side, this assumption was flawed since the attack caused the media to label every Tutsi

That night, Hutu President Habyarimana and the president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, were killed when Habyarimana's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport. The following day, Rwandan Armed Forces set up roadblocks and traveled to houses, killing Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians. During the first two days, thousands died while the United Nations stood by, unable to use force, since intervening with the massacre would breach their monitoring mandate. In response, on April 8th, the RPF launched an offensive to save their 600 troops surrounded in Kigali. More withdrawing occurred in later April when the U.N. cut its forces from 2,500 to 250 when ten Belgian soldiers were massacred for protecting moderate Hutu prime minister Agathe Uwiliyingimana. On April 30th, the United Nations met to hold a meeting to discuss the violence occurring in Rwanda and form a resolution. “The resolution condemning the killing omits the word ‘genocide.’ Had the term been used, the U.N. would have been legally obliged to act to ‘prevent and punish’ the perpetrators.” Also on this day, over 250,000 people, mainly Hutus, crossed the border into Tanzania to avoid the advancement of the RPF. By June, French forces were deployed in south-west Rwanda where they created a “safe-area” in a territory controlled by the government. In July, the RPF finally captured Kigali and set up refugee camps where the killing still occurred (“Rwanda

The article also gives information on Operation Gothic Serpent. “Ambush in Mogadishu” will be used to provide background information on Somalia and the deadly U.S. mission. Black Hawk Down: The Real Story, written by Jeremy Kuzmarov, provides a detailed background on the failed Somali mission, Operation Gothic Serpent. Kuzmarov provides the costs that were put into this mission and argues that the United States chose to not intervene in Rwanda due to this failed mission. This article will be used to provide the reasons why the failed Somali mission caused the United States to not want to engage in Rwandan intervention. What A Downed Black Hawk In Somalia Taught America, written by the NPR Staff, explains why the United States did not want to intervene with other countries after the failed mission in Somalia. The article also shares quotes from a famous author who wrote a book about Somalia. Quotes from this article will be used to show why the United States didn’t want to intervene with