Rwanda Defence Force

The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF, Kinyarwanda: Ingabo z'u Rwanda; French: Forces rwandaises de défense) is the national army of Rwanda. The country's armed forces were originally known as the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), but following the stopping of the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis, the victorious Rwandan Patriotic Front (Inkotanyi) created a new organization and named it Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). Later, it was renamed to its current name.

Rwanda Defence Force
Ingabo z'u Rwanda
Forces rwandaises de défense
 Nguvu ya Ulinzi ya Watu wa Rwanda
Founded1962
Current form1994
Service branches Land Forces
Air Force
Reserve Force
HeadquartersPost Box 23, Kigali[1]
Leadership
Commander-in-ChiefPresident Paul Kagame
Minister of DefenceMajor General Albert Murasira
Chief of Defence StaffGeneral Jean Bosco Kazura
Manpower
Available for
military service		2,625,917 males, age 16–49[2] (2010 est.),
2,608,110 females, age 16–49[2] (2010 est.)
Fit for
military service		1,685,066 males, age 16–49[2] (2010 est.),
1,749,580 females, age 16–49[2] (2010 est.)
Reaching military
age annually		(2010 est.)
Active personnel33,000[3]
Expenditures
Budget$91 million (2015)[3]
Percent of GDP1.1% (2015)[3]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Rwanda
Rwandan Civil War
Kibeho Massacre
First Congo War
Second Congo War
Six-Day War (2000)
Dongo conflict
2009 Eastern Congo offensive

The RDF comprises:[4]

  • High Command Council of the RDF
  • General Staff of the RDF
  • Rwanda Land Force
  • Rwanda Air Force
  • Individual units
  • Army Band of the RDF

The Rwanda Defence Force’s mission as provided in the Constitution of Rwanda is:

  • to defend the territorial integrity and the national sovereignty of the Republic;
  • to collaborate with other security organs in safe-guarding public order and enforcement of law;
  • to participate in humanitarian activities in case of disasters;
  • to contribute to the development of the country;
  • to participate in international peace-keeping missions, humanitarian assistance and training.

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 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 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.

Historical outline 1962–1994
Hutu militants
Rwandan genocide (1994)
Impuzamugambi
Interahamwe
Rwandan Armed Forces
Refugee crisis
RDR (1995–1996)
1st and 2nd Congo War
ALiR (1996–2001)
FDLR (2000–present)

The U.S. Army's Area Handbook for Rwanda, compiled in 1968–9, describes the security forces of Rwanda in 1969 as the 2,500 strong National Guard and the National Police, about 1,200 strong.[5] The National Guard had been established two years before independence and had gained experience by repelling small Tutsi invasions in 1963 and 1964. It was under the direction of the Minister of Defence, Juvénal Habyarimana, who also held the function of Chief of Staff of the National Guard in mid-1969. At that time it was composed of a headquarters, an intervention group (effectively an infantry battalion), five other rifle companies, and five independent rifle platoons.

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 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.[6] These two units were of battalion strength by 1994, and then counted a total of 800 troops.[7]

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 a time[8]), to some 30,000 by 1992.[9]

The Arusha Accords, signed on August 4, 1993, laid out a detailed plan for the integration of the Rwandan Government and Rwandan Patriotic Front military forces.[10] 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.[11] However radical elements within 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 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 April 6 to April 16, 1994, but was replaced by Augustin Bizimungu, who was also promoted to major general on 18 April,[12] since Col. Gatsinzi opposed the genocide.[13] Bizimungu was only briefly chief of staff before fleeing 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 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.

Operations post-1994

Kibeho Massacre, 1995

A massacre of internally displaced persons involving Rwandan Patriotic Army elements, at Kibeho in southern Rwanda during April 1995. See main article Kibeho Massacre.

First Congo War, 1996 to 1997

See main article First Congo War.

Second Congo War, 1998 to 2003

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 the Congo, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, but this was believed to be a substantial understatement.[14] 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 a great deal of experience in the region."[15] During the deployment on 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.

Ongoing Insurgency

There 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)[16] and also Burundi (the Forces nationales de libération, or FNL).[17]

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 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 218 and December 2019. There have also been a small number of attacks in southern Rwanda from Burundi-based rebels.

The Rwanda National Congress is another opposition group reported by the Kigali Government as carrying out attacks in Rwanda.[18][19] These include blame for grenade attacks in Rwanda between 2010 and 2014 that killed at least 17 people and injured over 400 others.[20]

Peace Support Operations

The RDF has deployed forces on a number of UN and AU endorsed peace 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 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[21] 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 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 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.[22][23]

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 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.

Command

Forces Armées Rwandaises

The Forces Armées Rwandaises (FAR) was composed of the Gendarmerie Nationale (6,000 personnel in 1994) and the Rwandan Army (30,000 troops in 1994).[24]

President and Commander-in-Chief

Minister of Defence

Chief of Staff of the Rwandan Army

Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie Nationale

Rwandan Patriotic Army/Rwanda Defense Force

President and Commander-in-Chief

  • Pasteur Bizimungu, 19 July 1994 to 23 March 2000, although Paul Kagame the Minister of Defence was also Commander-in-Chief. (Placed under house arrest 19 April 2002; sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for attempting to form a militia, inciting violence, and embezzlement 7 June 2004; appeal denied 17 February 2006; pardoned and released from prison 6 April 2007).
  • Paul Kagame, 22 April 2000 to present.

Minister of Defence

Chief of Defence Staff

Organisation

Ranks
Main article: Military ranks of Rwanda

Training Establishments

Major training centres include:[31][32][33][34]

  • RDF Command and Staff College, Nyakinama (Musanze District, Northern Province)
  • Rwanda Military Academy, Gako (Bugesera District, Eastern Province)
  • School of Infantry (Combat Training Centre), Gabiro
  • Nasho Training School

Land Forces
The RDF providing a guard of honour.

Several sources, including Gérard Prunier, document U.S. aid to the RPA before the First Congo War.[35] 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 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.[36]

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 the political administrative boundaries, which often complicated military operations.[37] During the First Congo War the brigade headquarters remained inside Rwanda but directed operations inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[38]

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:

  • 1 Division, based at Kigali, covers the central and east region;
  • 2 Division, based at Byumba, covers the north and east region;
  • 3 Division, based at Gisenyi, covers the northwest region; and
  • 4 (Mechanised) Division, based at Butare, covers the southwest region.[39][40][41]
  • Artillery Division[42]

Brigades reported include:

  • Republican Guard Brigade, Kigali[43]
  • Special Forces Brigade[44]
  • Engineering Brigade[45]
  • 201 Brigade, Kibungo[46][47]
  • 204 Brigade, Gasabo District, Kigali[48]
  • 211 Brigade, Gisenyi[46][49]
  • 301 Brigade, Butare[46]
  • 305 Brigade, Gitatama[46][49]
  • 307 Brigade[50]
  • 402 Brigade, Kigali[46]
  • 408 Brigade, Rusizi District[46][51]
  • 411 Brigade
  • 501 Brigade
  • 503 Brigade
  • 511 Brigade, Gicumbe District

Many soldiers from 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 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.[52]

Rwandan soldiers carrying equipment at Kigali International Airport

Air Force
Main article: Rwandan Air Force
Former roundel of Rwanda
Rwanda Defense Force MEDEVAC skills, January, 2011 - Flickr - US Army Africa (6)
Rwanda Defense Force MEDEVAC skills, January, 2011 - Flickr - US Army Africa

After achieving independence in 1962, the air arm (Force aérienne rwandaise) was formed with Belgian help.[53] By 1972 the first modern equipment started to arrive in 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 the Rwandan Air Force has twelve Mil Mi-8/17 helicopters, five Mil Mi-24 and four Aerospatiale Gazelle SA.342.[54]

During December 2012 an aviation unit of three helicopters was sent to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).[55] The Rwandan Aviation Unit was subsequently increased to six helicopters - reportedly Mi-17.[56]

Aircraft
Type Manufacturer Origin Class Role In service[54] Photo
Mi-24 Mil  Soviet Union Helicopter Attack 5
Mi-8/17 Mil  Soviet Union Helicopter Transport 12
SA.342 Gazelle Aerospatiale  France Helicopter Utility 4

Equipment

Army equipment
Make Type Origin Photo Quantity[57]
T-54/55 Tank  Soviet Union 34[58]
Ratel IFV Infantry fighting vehicle  South Africa 35[58]
BMP-1 Infantry fighting vehicle  Soviet Union ?[58]
RG-31 Nyala Infantry fighting vehicle  South Africa 36[58]
WZ-551 Armoured personnel carrier  China 20[58]
Panhard M3 Armoured personnel carrier  France 16
BTR-60 Armoured personnel carrier  Soviet Union ?[58]
Véhicule Blindé Léger Armoured car  France 16[58]
Panhard AML Armoured car  France 12
RM-70 Multiple rocket launcher  Czechoslovakia 5[58]
LAR-160 Multiple rocket launcher  Israel 5[58]
122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) Artillery  Soviet Union 6[58]
105mm M101 Artillery  United States ?[58]
152mm D-1 Artillery  Soviet Union 29[58]
122 mm howitzer SH3 Artillery  China ?[59]

Small arms
Name Type Origin Photo Caliber.
FN FAL[60] Battle rifle  Belgium 7.62x51mm NATO
AK-47[61] Assault rifle  Soviet Union 7.62x39mm
AKM[62] Assault rifle  Soviet Union 7.62x39mm
Vektor R5[63][64] Assault rifle  South Africa 5.56×45mm NATO
IWI Tavor[65] Assault rifle  Israel 5.56×45mm NATO
Type 56 assault rifle[66] Assault rifle  China 7.62x39mm
Zastava M76[67] Sniper rifle  Yugoslavia 7.92×57mm Mauser
M2 Browning[60] Heavy machine gun  United States .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO)
DShK[68] Heavy machine gun  Soviet Union 12.7×108mm
Vektor SS-77[69] General purpose machine gun  South Africa 7.62×51mm NATO
PKM General purpose machine gun  Soviet Union 7.62×54mmR
IMI Uzi[60] Submachine gun  Israel 9mm Parabellum
Browning Hi-Power[60] Semi-automatic weapon  Belgium 7.65×21mm Parabellum
RPG-7 Rocket launcher  Soviet Union

Characteristics

Marching style
The military parade of the RDF during the Liberation Day celebrations in 2014.
Members of the Rwanda Defense Force move into formation after arriving in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), Jan. 16, 2014 140116-A-ZZ999-007

Despite not being a former British colony, Rwanda has generally used British foot drill during official parades and functions. Since 2019 however, the RDF adopted the Chinese variant of the goosestep, which is today mostly used by countries in Central and Eastern Europe, communist countries, as well as 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 the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion of the People's Liberation Army's Central Theater Command marched while using the goosestep. It the introduction of the goosestep also saw to use of Mandarin parade commands such as "Look to the Right!" to which the soldiers respond with "One! Two!", which is done similarly in the PLA honor guard[70][71][72] Prior to this, only the rebels utilized the goosestep during the Civil War, as they received military training in the neighboring country of Uganda, which uses the goosestep.[73]

RDF Band
The RDF Band.

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.[74][75]

Endnotes
  1. "World Defence Almanac". Military Technology. Bonn, Germany: Monch Publishing Group. XXXII (1). 2008. ISSN 0722-3226.
  2. "CIA World Factbook". Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  3. IISS 2016, p. 462.
  4. Rwandan Ministry of Defence, Law Establishing Rwanda Defence Forces, LAW N° 19/2002 of 17/05/2002, J.O. n° 13 of 01/07/2002
  5. Richard F,. Nyrop, 'Area Handbook for Rwanda,' DA 550-84, research completed April 1, 1969, p.184-185
  6. Des Forges, 1999, p.43
  7. Des Forges, 1999, p.194
  8. Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis, p.163, cited in Des Forges, 1999, p.118
  9. Alison Des Forges, 'Leave None to Tell the Story,' Human Rights Watch, March 1999, ISBN 1-56432-171-1, p.60
  10. See Arusha Accords, hosted at University of Ulster, pages 49-71
  11. Des Forges, 1999, p.124-125
  12. Guichaoua, André (2015). From War to Genocide: Criminal Politics in Rwanda, 1990–1994. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 251. ISBN 9780299298203.
  13. Des Forges, 1999, p. 264
  14. "The Rwandan patriotic Army and Military Commercialism in Eastern Congo" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  15. United Nations Security Council, Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, S/2001/357, 12 April 2001
  16. 'Militia Leader Wanted for War Crimes Killed in Congo', Voice of America (Washington, DC), 19 September 2019.
  17. 'Burundi rebels killed in clashes with DR Congo troops', Reuters via Defenceweb, 15 April 2019, accessed 16 April 2019, <https://www.defenceweb.co.za/security/national-security/burundi-rebels-killed-in-clashes-with-dr-congo-troops/>
  18. Kleinfeld, P. (2019) In Eastern Congo, a Local Conflict Flares as Regional Tensions Rise, The New Humanitarian (Geneva), 28 October 2019.
  19. Karuhanga, J. (2019) 'A Glimpse at Anti-Rwanda Militia Groups in Eastern DR Congo', The New Times (Kigali), 10 December 2019.
  20. Bishumba, N. (2019) 'Ugandans, Burundians Among Captured RNC Militia Combatants', The New Times (Kigali), 2 October 2019.
  21. Akanga, E. (2005) 'Sudan UN Mission Force Set to Leave', The New Times (Kigali), 20 November 2005.
  22. 'Rwanda deploys peacekeeping troops to the Central African Republic', Ministry of Defence website, Kigali, 15 January 2014.
  23. Waugh, L. (2014) Central African Republic: Will MINUSCA Deployment Make a Difference in CAR? African Arguments, 15 September 2014.
  24. "The Prosecutor v. Théoneste Bagosora et al., Case No. ICTR-98-41-T, Judgement and Sentence" (PDF). International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. 18 December 2008. pp. 32–34.
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  28. "Major General Murasira takes charge as the new Defence Minister". mod.gov.rw. Retrieved Sep 6, 2019.
  29. "Leaders". mod.gov.rw. Retrieved Sep 6, 2019.
  30. Munyaneza, J. (2019) 'General Kazura Replaces General Nyamvumba as Kagame Shakes Up Top Military Brass', The New Times (Kigali), 5 November 2019, <www.newtimes.co.rw/news/gen-kazura-replaces-gen-nyamvumba-kagame-shakes-top-military-brass>
  31. Kagire, E. (2010) ‘240 Officer Cadets Pass-Out’, The New Times (Kigali), 26 March 2010.
  32. Karuhanga, J. (2011) ‘Gen. Karenzi to Head Nyakinama Military Academy’, The New Times (Kigali), 23 March 2011.
  33. Nkurunziza, S. & Musoni, E. (2012) ‘Senior Officers College Inaugurated’, The New Times (Kigali), 24 July 2012.
  34. Karinganire, E.D. (2012) ‘RDF Command and Staff College inaugurated’, Rwanda Focus (Kigali), 24 July 2012.
  35. Gerard Prunier, From Genocide to Continental War, 2009, p.126-127 and "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2009-11-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  36. Gerard Prunier, From Genocide to Continental War: The "Congolese" Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa, C. Hurst & Co, 2009, ISBN 978-1-85065-523-7, p.127, citing author's direct personal observation and several interviews with journalists, both local and foreign, in Kigali and Kampala, 1995 and 1996, for the Kigali/Entebbe report, and interviews with DGSE officers, Paris, May 1997, and UPDF officers, Kampala, November 1997 for the C-130 airdrop report.
  37. Rick Orth (former United States Army attache in Rwanda), Rwanda's Hutu Extremist genocidal Insurgency: An Eyewitness Perspective, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2001, pp. 76-109 (34), note 67, page 108
  38. Orth, 2001, note 67, page 108
  39. Jane's World Armies: Rwanda, Role and Deployment,' July 2009
  40. ‘RDF PRESS RELEASE - APPOINTMENTS AND CHANGES WITHIN RDF REF: RDF/MPR/A/07/02/19; 9 April 2019, <https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4021&cHash=7d250d18dc0b30b6b85498e2d54ab37b#.XK7Y7-j7TIU>
  41. Munyaneza, J. (2019) ‘Gen Mupenzi Named New Army Chief of Staff, The New Times (Kigali), 9 April 2019.
  42. Munyaneza, J. (2019) ‘General Kazura Replaces General Nyamvumba as Kagame Shakes Up Top Military Brass’, The New Times (Kigali), 5 November 2019, <https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/gen-kazura-replaces-gen-nyamvumba-kagame-shakes-top-military-brass>
  43. Cooper, Tom, Great Lakes Conflagration: The Second Congo War, 1998-2003, Helion & Co, United Kingdom, 2013.
  44. RDF Special Operations Forces donate blood as part of Army Week activities, Ministry of Defence Kigali, 6 May 2017, accessed 9 May 2017, <https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3449&cHash=5d490fc2817fbc316e3ba3d313f9b5ff#.WRGyudKGPIU’>
  45. Munyaneza op cit.
  46. Cooper op cit.
  47. ‘19 Infantry Battalion relieved from peacekeeping mission in South Sudan’, Ministry of Defence, Kigali, 19 March 2017, accessed 20 March 2017, <https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3401&cHash=e08c8b21684ea2e95bd7a6650c16df20#.WM-zUfmGPIU>
  48. 'RDF continues alternating its peacekeepers in South Sudan', Ministry of Defence Kigali, 11 March 2019, <https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=4006&cHash=bed3195e10c729b36a4349c587e45868#.XJtI5pj7TIU>
  49. ‘Rwanda Defence Force completes rotation for peacekeepers deployed in Zalinge – Darfur’, Ministry of Defence Kigali, 19 December 2017, accessed 28 January 2018, <https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3659&cHash=b9ee19ed31b3250a65dd24a564384309#.Wm03eqiWbIU>
  50. Bizimungu, J. (2020) ‘Kagame Promotes Two Senior Military Officers’, The New Times, Kigali, 9 July 2020.)
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  52. Orth 2001
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Bibliography
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Further reading
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