SUMMARY
Organised violence in Rwanda is defined by conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. Rooted in Rwanda’s colonial legacy, tension between these groups culminated in the 1990-1994 Civil War and the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Here, Rwandan government troops and paramilitaries systematically killed Tutsi and moderate Hutu civilians over a period of one hundred days. Since then, organised violence within the country decreased rapidly. However, the Government of Rwanda has been heavily involved in ongoing armed conflict in the neighbouring DR Congo (Zaire), which has seen occasional spillover into Rwanda.
Since 1989, Rwanda has experienced the intrastate, non-state and one-sided categories of organised violence, as defined by UCDP.
2025
2025 saw an escalation of Rwanda’s involvement in DR Congo (Zaire). Rwandan backed rebel group AFC (Congo River Alliance, Alliance Fleuve Congo) expanded its territorial control in the east including in and around the towns of Goma, Bukavu and Uvira. The Rwandan army also continued to fight the rebel group, FDLR-FOCA (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda, Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda). The conflict over governmental power, which takes place on Congolese soil, increased somewhat in intensity compared to previous year, although not reaching the same level as in 2023. Fighting mostly occurred in the first half of the year. In April 2025, Rwandan soldiers clashed with FDLR fighters in Goma town on Congolese territory, resulting in over 50 fatalities. One-sided violence by the Rwandan government increased compared to 2024. The violence was heavily concentrated in eastern DR Congo following the takeover of Goma in late January. Incidents were also reported in the Rutshuru and Masisi territories, against individuals suspected of affiliation with FDLR or other armed groups.
The Rwandan Civil War and Genocide
In the decades following Rwanda’s independence from Belgium in 1962, many Rwandan Tutsi fled to neighbouring countries to escape persecution by a series of Hutu-led governments. In Uganda, these exiles formed the FPR (Front Patriotique Rwandais, Rwandan Patriotic Front). In October 1990, the FPR invaded Rwanda, marking the beginning of the Rwandan Civil War. From the very beginning of this conflict, the Government of Rwanda used one-sided violence against Tutsis and Hutu moderates who were seen as collaborators of the FPR. Similarly, the FPR used one-sided violence by targeting Hutu civilians as they took territory throughout Rwanda.
By 1993, the Government of Rwanda signed the Arusha Accords, a series of peace agreements that created a transition government that would include the FPR. Hutu extremists were strongly opposed to the plan and accelerated their propagation of anti-Tutsi sentiment. In April of 1994, prospects for peace fell apart when a plane carrying the Rwandan and Burundian presidents was shot down by unknown perpetrators over Kigali. The same night, Hutu extremists took control of the government and organised killings of Tutsis and Hutu moderates, marking the beginning of the Rwandan Genocide. Over the next 100 days, Tutsi and Moderate Hutu civilians were systematically killed by the Rwandan army and paramilitaries. There is high uncertainty and disagreement about the number of victims of the genocide, but the best estimate recorded by the UCDP is 759.800 fatalities.
The genocide re-ignited the conflict with the FPR who restarted their military advance toward the capital. By mid-July, the group had seized control of the country by capturing most of its territory – ending the genocide and civil war. Having control of the country and its capital, the FPR ceased to exist as a rebel group, instead taking over the role of the Government of Rwanda.
Post-Genocide Violence
Although the new FPR-led government ended the civil war and genocide in 1994, a major refugee crisis created continued instability in the following years. An estimated 1 million Rwandans were internally displaced and 1.5 million people fled to neighbouring countries, with at least 1 million settling in camps in the border regions of the DR Congo(Zaire). They had fled the FPR’s military advance and included elements of the defeated Hutu government, armed forces, and paramilitaries responsible for the genocide alongside Hutu civilians. The new FPR-led government indiscriminately targeted these populations and committed multiple massacres against Hutu IDPs in 1995.
In the refugee camps in the Kivu provinces of the DR Congo(Zaire), elements of the defeated Hutu opposition were able to reorganise. In 1996, these exiles created ALiR (Armée pour la Libération du Rwanda, Army for the Liberation of Rwanda), with the goal of toppling the new government. From 1996 to 1998, ALiR led a series of incursions into northwestern Rwanda. where they clashed with the government and carried out several massacres of civilians. During this period, the Rwandan government also carried out one-sided violence in the northwest, mainly targetting refugee populations returning from the DR Congo(Zaire).
In 2000, ALiR reorganized itself and became part of the FDLR-FOCA. The following year, the FDLR-FOCA launched a large military offensive into Rwanda in an attempt to take control of the country. The Rwandan army successfully repelled this attack, and no major incursions into Rwanda have occurred since. However, the Rwandan government is still in active conflict with the FDLR-FOCA and two splinter groups named FDLR-RUD and RMDC. These groups continue to have bases in DR Congo (Zaire) and Burundi, and occasionally carry out small-scale cross-border attacks into Rwanda. Furthermore, Rwanda has supported the rebel group M23 which has periodically engaged in armed rebellion against the government of DR Congo (Zaire) since 2012. In 2012 and 2013, this conflict saw some spillover into Rwanda.
