54-683: The Rwanda Defence Force ( RDF , Kinyarwanda : Ingabo z'u Rwanda , French : Forces rwandaises de défense , Swahili : Nguvu ya Ulinzi ya Watu wa Rwanda ) is the military of the Republic of Rwanda . The country's armed forces were originally known as the Forces armées rwandaises (FAR), but following the Rwandan Civil War of 1990–1994 and the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the victorious Rwandan Patriotic Front (Inkotanyi) renamed it
108-411: A few morphological contexts, the sequences 'ki' and 'ke' may be pronounced interchangeably as [ki] and [ke] or [ci] and [ce] according to speaker's preference. The letters ⟨a, e, i⟩ at the end of a word followed by a word starting with a vowel often follows a pattern of omission in common speech ( sandhi ), though the orthography remains the same. Consider the following excerpt of
162-486: A great deal of experience in the region." During the deployment in the DRC, Rwandan forces fought the so-called " Six-Day War " against Ugandan forces over the city of Kisangani , leaving at least 1,000 dead. On 17 September 2002, the first Rwandan soldiers were withdrawn from the eastern DRC. On 5 October Rwanda announced the completion of its withdrawal; MONUC confirmed the departure of over 20,000 Rwandan soldiers. There
216-528: A peak deployed strength of four battalions, the numbers had declined by mid-2020 to two battalions. United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) In April 2012 a Rwandan contingent was deployed to this UN mission in the newly independent country of South Sudan. The deployment was continuing in mid-2020, by when an aviation unit, two infantry battalions and a Regional Protection Force battalion were deployed. AU-led International Support Mission to
270-582: A single Chinese Type-85 heavy machine gun . In 2021, Rwanda deployed several of the powerboats to operate in littoral waters in the Indian Ocean as part of its deployment to support Mozambique during the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado . After achieving independence in 1962, the air arm ( Force aérienne rwandaise ) was formed with Belgian help. By 1972 the first modern equipment started to arrive in
324-602: A time), to some 30,000 by 1992. The Arusha Accords , signed on 4 August 1993, laid out a detailed plan for the integration of the Rwandan Government and Rwandan Patriotic Front military forces. The Rwandan government was to provide 60% of the troops for the new integrated army, but would have to share command positions with the RPF down to the level of battalion. The new army was to consist of no more than 19,000 soldiers and 6,000 Gendarmerie. However radical elements within
378-420: A variety of morphophonological changes in the preceding segment) and the subjunctive (ending in the morpheme -e ). According to Botne (1983), a verb may belong to any of eight Aktionsart categories, which may be broadly grouped into stative and dynamic categories. In the immediate tense, dynamic verbs take the imperfective stem while stative verbs take the perfective stem, while both use the imperfective stem in
432-731: Is a Bantu language and the national language of Rwanda . It is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is also spoken in adjacent parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda , where the dialect is known as Rufumbira or Urufumbira . Kinyarwanda is universal among the native population of Rwanda and is mutually intelligible with Kirundi , the national language of neighbouring Burundi. Kinyabwishya and Kinyamulenge are mutually intelligible dialects spoken in
486-531: Is an ongoing, low-level insurgency from Rwandan rebels based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; mainly the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (or FDLR ) During early 2009 the RDF operated in eastern DRC against FDLR rebels in joint operations with the armed forces of the DRC. The initial 2009 deployment was code-named Operation Umoja Wetu. The RDF re-entered the DRC in 2009 to assist
540-469: Is normally pronounced [ɾɡw] . The differences are the following: These are all sequences; [bɡ] , for example, is not labial-velar [ ɡ͡b ] . Even when Rwanda is pronounced [ɾwaːnda] rather than [ɾɡwaːnda] , the onset is a sequence, not a labialized [ɾʷ] . Kinyarwanda uses 16 of the Bantu noun classes . Sometimes these are grouped into 10 pairs so that most singular and plural forms of
594-690: Is the armed wing of an externally-based opposition party: the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, or MRCD, which was formed by Paul Rusesabagina and Callixte Nsabimana. Rusesabagina is considered by some to be a hero of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and his actions are portrayed in the Hollywood film 'Hotel Rwanda'. Rusesabagina and Nsabimana were kidnapped and flown to Kigali, where they were arrested, in September 2020. Their trial continues. Incursions into southern Rwanda by armed members of
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#1732771962496648-670: The Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion of the People's Liberation Army 's Central Theater Command marched while using the goosestep. Mandarin parade commands are used, such as "Look to the right!" to which the soldiers respond with "One! Two!", which is done similarly in the PLA honor guard. Prior to this, only the rebels utilized the goosestep during the Civil War, as they received military training in
702-702: The Belgian Congo . As the Congo was due to achieve independence in 1960 and withdraw its forces, the Belgian Special Resident decided to create an indigenous army to provide for Rwanda's security. On 19 May 1960, he ordered the recruitment of a 650-strong military force to become the Garde Territoriale. The force was later renamed the Garde Nationale. The U.S. Army's Area Handbook for Rwanda , compiled in 1968–9, describes
756-522: The Democratic Republic of the Congo , mainly the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (or FDLR ). The RDF is regularly deployed in peacekeeping missions in Africa. Rwanda is now one of the largest contributors of personnel on UN missions. While Rwanda was a Belgian colony administered as a part of Ruanda-Urundi , its security was provided by the Force Publique , the colonial army of
810-648: The First Congo War . The officially admitted part of the training was Joint Combined Exchange Training . Prunier strongly implies the United States supplied communications equipment, vehicles, boots, and medicines to the RPA before the war began and after it broke out, delivered second-hand Warsaw Pact weapons and ammunition either directly to Goma or by airdrop along the AFDL front lines. He reports that after
864-658: The Gendarmerie . Elite troops included the Presidential Guard, estimated at between 1,000 and 1,300 troops, as well as the Paracommando and Reconnaissance units. These two units were of battalion strength by 1994, and then counted a total of 800 troops. In response to the RPF invasion of 1990, the 5,000-man FAR rapidly expanded, with French training assistance (as many as 1,100 French troops were in Rwanda at
918-651: The North Kivu and South Kivu provinces of neighbouring DR Congo. In 2010, the Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture (RALC) was established to help promote and sustain Kinyarwanda. The organization attempted an orthographic reform in 2014, but it was met with pushback due to their perceived top-down and political nature, among other reasons. Kinyarwanda is spoken in Rwanda , the Democratic Republic of
972-732: The Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), its army name during the struggle of 1990–1994. Later, it was renamed to its current name. The Rwanda Defence Force's mission as provided in the Constitution of Rwanda is: After it conquered the country in July 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of April to July 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) decided to split into a political division (which retained
1026-519: The Rwandan anthem : Reka tukurate tukuvuge ibigwi wowe utubumbiye hamwe twese Abanyarwanda uko watubyaye berwa, sugira, singizwa iteka. would be pronounced as Reka tukurate tukuvug' ibigwi wow' utubumiye hamwe twes' abanyarwand' uko watubyaye berwa, sugira singizw' iteka. There are some discrepancies in pronunciation from orthographic Cw and Cy. The glides /w j/ strengthen to stops in consonant clusters. For example, rw (as in Rwanda )
1080-424: The subject . Then a tense marker can be inserted. The class I prefixes y-/a- and ba- correspond to the third person for persons. The personal prefix n- becomes m- before a labial sound (p, b, f, v), while personal prefix tu- becomes du- under Dahl's Law. Every regular verb has three stems: the imperfective (ending in the morpheme -a ), the perfective (ending in the morpheme -:ye , which may trigger
1134-546: The 305th Brigade, Lt. Col. Laurent Munyakazi took command of the 99th Battalion, and Lt. Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Emmanuel Habyarimana became an RPA Member of Parliament and Director of Training in the Ministry of Defence. Gen. Gatsinzi later became Director of Security and then Minister of Defence in 2002. The Rwandan Land Forces also contain a marine unit which operates on Lake Kivu . The unit utilizes several Fabio Buzzi powerboats equipped as fast attack craft, each armed with
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#17327719624961188-581: The CAR (MISCA) This African Union mission to the troubled Central African Republic was joined, between January and September 2014, by a Rwandan mechanised battalion. United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) This UN mission superseded the AU-led mission in the Central African Republic. Rwanda provides a protection battalion in
1242-414: The Congo and Uganda . The table below gives the consonants of Kinyarwanda. The table below gives the vowel sounds of Kinyarwanda. Kinyarwanda is a tonal language . Like many Bantu languages , it has a two-way contrast between high and low tones (low-tone syllables may be analyzed as toneless). The realization of tones in Kinyarwanda is influenced by a complex set of phonological rules . Except in
1296-509: The Congo, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit , but this was believed to be a substantial understatement. The International Crisis Group estimated that the RPA has between 17,000 and 25,000 troops deployed in the Congo. In April 2001, a United Nations report on the exploitation of the Congo, said the RPA had a minimum of 25,000 troops in the Congo, an estimate the report attributes to "military specialists with
1350-542: The DRC in putting down the Dongo Rebellion . These operations inside the DRC did not prevent cross-border attacks within Rwanda during late 2012, August 2013, December 2018 and December 2019. There has also been a small number of attacks in southern Rwanda from Burundi-based rebels. These attacks are usually blamed on the National Forces of Liberation ( Forces nationales de libération ), or FNL. The FNL
1404-584: The FNL occurred in 2018 and 2019 and, more recently, on 27 June 2020 and 23 May 2021. The Rwanda National Congress is another opposition group reported by the Kigali Government as carrying out attacks in Rwanda. These include blame for grenade attacks in Rwanda between 2010 and 2014 that killed at least 17 people and injured over 400 others. On 9 July 2021, a 1000-strong joint Rwandan military police force started deploying to northern Mozambique to assist
1458-515: The Presidential Guard under Major Protais Mpiranya became the three most significant genocidare units. Col. Marcel Gatsinzi was briefly named chief of staff of the Rwandan army from 6 to 16 April 1994, but was replaced by Augustin Bizimungu , who was also promoted to major general on 18 April, since Col. Gatsinzi opposed the genocide. Bizimungu was only briefly chief of staff before fleeing
1512-651: The RDF has adopted the Chinese variant of the goosestep , which is today mostly used by countries in Central and Eastern Europe , by communist countries, as well as by countries with a large Prussian/German influence ( Russia , China and Chile all being examples of each). It was first displayed in April during the military parade in honor of the Rwandan genocide 's silver jubilee on Liberation Day , in which over 1,500 RDF soldiers and policemen trained by six members of
1566-461: The RPF name) and a military division, which would serve as the official army of the Rwandan state. Defence spending continues to represent an important share of the national budget, largely due to continuing security problems along Rwanda's frontiers with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi , and lingering concerns about Uganda 's intentions towards its former ally. There is an ongoing, low-level insurgency from Rwandan rebels based in
1620-792: The RPF victory, where they formed the Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (RDR), which later became the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is still active in eastern Congo 's North Kivu Province. See main article First Congo War . See main article Second Congo War . Circa 2000 during the Second Congo War , the Rwanda Patriotic Army unofficially admitted to having 4,000 to 8,000 troops deployed in
1674-755: The Royal High Institute of Defence from 1974 to 1976. Beside the military assignments in the Rwandan Army, Colonel Gatsinzi served in the OAU Neutral Military Observer Group set by the Organization of African Unity . That OAU NMOG was meant to monitor the cease fire during the period of the negotiations between the Government and the RPF during the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994). He also participated in
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1728-600: The Rwandan Air Force has twelve Mil Mi-8 /17 helicopters, five Mil Mi-24 and four Aerospatiale Gazelle SA.342. During December 2012 an aviation unit of three helicopters was sent to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The Rwandan Aviation Unit was subsequently increased to six helicopters – reportedly Mi-17. Despite not being a former British colony, Rwanda has generally used British foot drill during official parades and functions. Since 2019, however,
1782-804: The Rwandan Joint Task Force was commanded by Brig. Gen. P. Muhizi. The Joint Task Force was reported to have increased to 2,500 personnel in December 2022 and, in January 2023, the commander was Maj. Gen. Eugene Nkubito. On 4 August 2023, there was a change of command when Maj. Gen. Alexis Kagame assumed command of the Joint Task Force from Maj. Gen Eugene Nkubito and the Task Force Battle Group (TFBG) commander Brig. Gen. F. Mutembe handed over to Col. T. Bahizi,
1836-606: The Rwandan government were implacably opposed to implementation of the Accords and, instead, began the planning that would lay the foundations for the genocide. The Reconnaissance Battalion's commander, François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye , and his subordinates played a key role during the genocide. Together with the Reconnaissance Battalion, the Paracommando Battalion under Major Aloys Ntabakuze and
1890-411: The capital of Bangui, a level two hospital in the town of Bria and, from September 2017, a battle group comprising a mechanised infantry battalion. During August 2021 the Rwandan was expanded again, when a third Rwandan infantry battalion was deployed to the CAR. The RDF command comprises: Major training centres include: Several sources, including Gérard Prunier , document U.S. aid to the RPA before
1944-427: The children to go . In this construction, the original S can be deleted. Abantu people ba-rá-bon-a. they- PRES -see- ASP Abantu ba-rá-bon-a. people they-PRES-see-ASP "People see" Ku-geenda INF -go gu-teer-a Marcel Gatsinzi Marcel Gatsinzi ( / m ɑːr ˈ s ɛ l ɡ ɑː t ˈ s ɪ n z i / mar- SEL gaht- SIN -zee ; 9 January 1948 – 7 March 2023)
1998-542: The country. Many soldiers of the FAR have since been implicated by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the genocide, including its leader during the genocide, Col. Théoneste Bagosora , who was chief of the cabinet (private office) of the Ministry of Defence prior to the genocide. Many elements of the former Rwandan regime, including soldiers of the FAR, fled to eastern Zaire after
2052-541: The first ever deployment of Rwandan personnel on a United Nations mission, a small contingent of 254 personnel was deployed for year-long tours between November 2005 and September 2010. African Union/ United Nations Hybrid Mission to Darfur (UNAMID) This UN mission superseded the AU mission in the Darfur region of Sudan. Infantry battalions have been deployed, for year-long tours, between January 2008 and mid-2020. Starting with
2106-399: The form of seven Alouette IIIs . Other deliveries included Aérospatiale Gazelle , Britten-Norman Islanders , Nord Noratlas , SOCATA Guerrier armed light planes and Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil . After fighting began between the RPA and the government in 1990 most aircraft were shot down, destroyed on the ground or crashed. Few survived. Flight International's World Air Forces 2017 states
2160-464: The former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), the national army under the previous regime, have been incorporated into the RDF since 1994. This process began soon after the genocide in January 1995, when several former FAR officers were given senior positions in the new armed forces: Col. (later Gen.) Marcel Gatsinzi became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the RPA, Col. Balthazar Ndengeyinka became commander of
2214-521: The genocide and willingness to negotiate with the RPF, he was integrated into the Rwandan Patriotic Army shortly after their taking power. He was appointed chief of staff of the gendarmerie in 1997. Gatsinzi held various political and military appointments with the following as his main career highlights: Gatsinzi held a series of honorific military medal awards. Gatsinzi was appointed Minister of Defence on 15 November 2002, succeeding Brig.-Gen. Emmanuel Habyarimana . Gatsinzi died on 7 March 2023, at
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2268-457: The habitual or gnomic tense. Simple tense/mood markers include the following: Object affixes corresponding to the noun classes of an object may be placed after the tense marker and before the verb stem: The personal object affixes are as follows: Kinyarwanda employs the use of periphrastic causatives , in addition to morphological causatives. The periphrastic causatives use the verbs -teer- and -tum- , which mean cause . With -teer- ,
2322-505: The incoming TFBG 3 Commander. The RDF has deployed forces on a number of UN and AU-endorsed peacekeeping support operations in Africa. Rwanda is now one of the largest contributors of personnel on UN missions. Deployments include: African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) Units were deployed on year-long tours of duty between August 2004 and December 2007. The peak commitment was four battalions. United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) In
2376-399: The national security forces in combating Islamic extremists. The Joint Task Force was commanded by Maj. Gen. Innocent Kabandana and initially comprised 700 soldiers and 300 police. The Rwandan deployment to Mozambique under a bilateral agreement pre-empted a long-planned Southern African Development Council (SADC) military operation. The Joint Task Force was soon in action and within the month
2430-469: The negotiations process. During the genocide, from 6 to 17 April 1994 he served as Army Chief of Staff of the FAR. Because he advocated a more moderate approach and opposed expansion of the genocide, Gatsinzi was removed from the post and was replaced by Augustin Bizimungu . Afterwards he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to negotiate with the RPF and "other duties that did not involve direct command of troops". Because of his resistance to
2484-561: The neighboring country of Uganda , which uses the goosestep. The Rwanda Defence Forces Army Band is the military band of the RDF. The RDF Band was founded in 1992 during the Rwandan Civil War and gave its first performance on 8 March 1992. After the war, it was re-established with 46 members. Although it represents the defence forces, it falls under the command of the Land Forces. Kinyarwanda language Kinyarwanda , Rwandan or Rwanda , officially known as Ikinyarwanda ,
2538-563: The original subject becomes the object of the main clause, leaving the original verb in the infinitive (just like in English): Ábáana children b-a-gii-ye . they- PST -go- ASP Ábáana b-a-gii-ye . children they-PST-go-ASP "The children left ." Umugabo man y-a-tee-ye he- PST -cause- ASP ábáana children ku-geend-a . INF -go- ASP Umugabo y-a-tee-ye ábáana ku-geend-a . man he-PST-cause-ASP children INF-go-ASP "The man caused
2592-478: The political administrative boundaries, which often complicated military operations. During the First Congo War the brigade headquarters remained inside Rwanda but directed operations inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Jane's World Armies said in July 2009 that the RDF is deployed to protect the country's borders and defend against external aggression. There are four divisions, each deploying three brigades: Brigades reported include: Many soldiers from
2646-412: The same word are included in the same class. The table below shows the 16 noun classes and how they are paired in two commonly used systems. All Kinyarwanda verb infinitives begin with ku- (morphed into k(w)- before vowels, and into gu- before stems beginning with a voiceless consonant due to Dahl's Law ). To conjugate , the infinitive prefix is removed and replaced with a prefix agreeing with
2700-483: The security forces of Rwanda in 1969 as the 2,500 strong National Guard and the National Police, about 1,200 strong. The Forces armées rwandaises (FAR) was the national army of Rwanda until July 1994, when the government collapsed in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and the war with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (Inkotanyi). The FAR was estimated at 7,000 strong, including approximately 1,200 members of
2754-926: The war's outbreak, the U.S. Air Force had switched from using C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxys to deliver the non-lethal aid to Kigali Airport and Entebbe Airport , to airdrops by C-130 Hercules aircraft. From July 1994 until December 1997 the RPA had six brigades, as designated in the Arusha Accords: 402nd in Kigali and Kigali Rurale Prefecture; 201st in Kibungo, Umatura, and Byumba Prefectures; 301st in Butare, Gikongoro, and Cyangugu Prefectures; 305th in Gitatama and Kibuye Prefectures; and 211th in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Prefectures. The brigade boundaries mirrored
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#17327719624962808-502: 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 . Gatsinzi
2862-732: Was born in Kigali on 9 January 1948. He started his formal education at Collège Saint-André in Nyamirambo, Kigali, where he graduated with a diploma in 1968. His military career began at the Kigali Military Academy in the same year, and he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 31 March 1970. Gatsinzi pursued his military career courses in Belgium at Heverlee (Louvain) in the School of Logistics in 1971 and in Brussels at
2916-453: Was reported to have overrun a terrorist base and inflicted casualties. In August 2021 it was reported that the contingent had eliminated 14 insurgents in total. The port town of Mocimboa da Praia was then recaptured from insurgents. Operations then became more scattered across the northern province, and President Kagame announced in February 2022 that 80% of the enemy occupied Cabo Delgado province had been recaptured since mid-2021. At this time
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