Chronology

1860: The new mwami, Kigeri Rwabugiri (1860-1895), expands his power in the central kingdom and in the western region. He also expands the system of clientship.

1880s: The first European explorers arrive in Rwanda.

1895: New mwami: Mibambwe Rutarindwa.

1896: Mwami Rutarindwa is assassinated and succeeded by Yuhi Musinga.

1899: Germany establishes colonial rule in Ruanda-Urundi and the territory becomes part of German East Africa. The first
missionaries arrive.

1910: The frontiers of the Belgian Congo, British Uganda and German East Africa - including the territory of Ruanda-Urundi - are fixed
at a conference in Brussels.

1911: A popular uprising in northern Rwanda is crushed by the German Schutztruppe and Tutsi chiefs, leaving continuing bitterness
among northern Hutu.

1916: Belgium takes over the territory, which after the First World War is administered under a League of Nations mandate.

1931: Mwami Musinga is deposed by the Belgians in favour of his son, Charles Rudahigwa Mutara.

1930s: A process of "Tutsification" results in a monopoly of political and administrative power in the hands of Tutsi. Ethnic
classification through the introduction of identity cards.

1957: The Bahutu Manifesto, a document criticizing the Tutsi monopoly, is issued by nine Hutu intellectuals.

1959: The jacquérie takes place - a so-called "social revolution" formented by Hutu intellectuals supported by Belgium and the Church. At least twenty thousand Tutsi's are massacred, and hundreds flee into exile. The same year, mwami Mutara Rudahigwa dies mysteriously in Bujumbura. He is succeeded by his brother, Kigeri Ndahindurwa.

1960: Rwanda's first local elections result in an overwhelming victory for the Parmehutu party. Mwami Kigeri Ndahindurwa chooses not to return from the independence celebrations in the Congo.

1961: The monarchy is formally abolished by a referendum. On 25 September, the first parliamentary elections in Rwanda are held.
Parmehutu receives 78% of the vote.

1962: On 1 July, Rwanda and Burundi gain independence from Belgium. The first President of independent Rwanda is Grégoire Kayibanda
from the Parmehutu party.

1963: Armed attacks by Tutsi exiles from Burundi, the so-called inyenzi, deepen ethnic tension in Rwanda. In the violence, which
escalates in November-December, some 30,000 Tutsis are killed and there is a new wave of Tutsi refugees to Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Zaire(Congo-Kinshasa).

1973: Coup d'état; Major-General Juvénal Habyarimana assumes power. He founds a new party, the National Revolutionary
Movement for Development (Mouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le Développement, (MRND). Beginning of the Second Republic.

1978: MRND becomes Rwanda's only party under a new constitution. Habyarimana is confirmed as President in 1978, 1983 and 1988,
with more than 99% of the vote.

1987: A military coup takes place in Burundi. President Bagaza is overthrown and Major Pierre Buyoya takes power.

1988: In April, ethnic tensions in Burundi cause a wave of refugees into Rwanda. In connection with a conference on Rwandese refugees,
held in Washington D.C., the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) is founded.

1990

July: A first breakthrough in negotiations between Rwanda, Uganda and UNHCR on the repatriation of Rwandese refugees in Uganda is
achieved.

5 July: President Habyarimana recognizes the necessity of a separation between the MRND party and the state.

1 September: A protest letter denouncing the one-party system is published by 33 intellectuals.

24 September: A National Commission is set up to prepare for the introduction of a multi-party system.

1 October: Uganda-based RPF invades the northern parts of Rwanda, demanding the right to settle thousands of (mainly Tutsi) refugees
and political reforms, such as introduction of a multi-party system. In the war that follows, several RPF leaders are killed and the attack is repulsed.

Mid-October: Local Hutu take revenge on Tutsi in the commune of Kibilira (in Gisenyi). More than 300 people are killed.

24 October: A cease-fire concluded in Mwanza, Tanzania, a week earlier is violated.

27 October: The heads of state of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire agree to form a military peace-monitoring force as a first
step to end the civil war in Rwanda.

End of October: There is a stalemate in the war. RPF abandons conventional fighting and reverts to guerilla warfare.

October-November: Thousands of RPF "collaborators" are arrested. Most of them are released in March/April 1991.

13 November: President Habyarimana announces the introduction of multi-partyism and the abolition of the ethnic identity cards. The ID cards were, however, never abolished.

20 November: A cease-fire is concluded in Goma, Zaire. An agreement on an OAU observer force is signed.

1991

January-February: Trials of arrested RPF "collaborators" start. Several prisoners are sentenced to death, but no executions
are carried out.

23 January: RPF raid in Ruhengeri. Prisoners are liberated, some of whom join the RPF.

29 March: A cease-fire between RPF and the Rwandese government is reached. An agreement on the integration of RPF in a
transitional government is signed.

28 April: MRND holds an extraordinary congress, where multi-partyism is accepted and the name and status of the party are changed.
New name: Mouvement Républicain pour le Développement et la Démocratie (still abbreviated MRND).

10 June: A new constitution is introduced.

18 June: A law on multi-partyism is promulgated.

31 July: The domestic opposition denounces plans to hold elections, insisting that ample time must be allowed for preparations.

16 September: OAU summit in Gbadolite, Zaire. The earlier cease-fire agreement is amended.

Early November: Widespread ethnic violence.

17 November: A Committee of Consultation organizes political demonstrations in Kigali against the government and the one-party system. Some 10,000 people participate.

Early December: The Rwandese Catholic church takes a political stance, calling for serious talks with RPF and formation of an
independent transitional government.

30 December: Formation of the Nsanzimana government with one minister from Partie Démocrate Chrétien (PDC) and the rest
from MRND.

1992

8 January: Demonstrations in Kigali against the government and the one-party system with some 30,000 participants.

Beginning of March: Ethnic violence in Bugesera. At least 300 killed.

13 March: New negotiations between the government and main opposition parties.

March: CDR (Coalition pour la Défence de la
République) and MRND militias are built up by extremist Hutu supporters.

16 April: Inclusion of all major opposition parties in the government (MDR, PSD, PL, PDC). Prime Minister: Nsengiyaremye.

May: A major RPF attack on Byumba results in a wave of Hutu peasants from the north moving southward (some 350,000 people).

2 June: Government army forces begin looting in several towns in anticipation of losing their jobs if the government signs a
peace pact with RPF.

9 June: After talks in Brussels and Paris between RPF and all government parties except MRND, an agreement to hold a peace
conference to end the two years of civil war is reached.

10 August: Formal opening of the peace conference in Arusha, Tanzania.

10-18 August: Negotiations on the Arusha protocol on the rule of law.

7-18 September and 5-30 October: The second Arusha protocol on transitional institutions is discussed.

November: Political violence by extremist Hutu interahamwe militia escalates.

End of November: A demonstration, in favour of the peace-talks and against Habyarimana's veto to the protocol on transitional
institutions, takes place despite the government's attempts to stop it.

24 November-9 January 1993: A protocol on power-sharing and a transitional parliament is discussed in Arusha, but President
Habyarimana refuses to sign it.

1993: Igihirahiro

21-26 January: Ethnic violence in the north-west. Some 300 people are killed.

8 February: RPF occupation of an important zone in the préfectures of Ruhengeri and Byumba. As a consequence, almost 1 million people
are displaced. The French reinforce their troops in Rwanda by 300 men.

25 February-2 March: Peace negotiations between RPF and the opposition parties within the government on the withdrawal of all French
troups and their replacement by UN or OAU troops.

7 March: A new cease-fire agreement is signed in Dar-es-Salaam,
Tanzania.

Mid-March: The 300 extra French troops are withdrawn.

15 March: Peace talks are taken up again in Arusha (and continue until 24 June).

April: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns that the 900,000 displaced people in Rwanda face a major
humanitarian catastrophe. ICRC says that famine is imminent.

1 June: Presidential elections in Burundi. New President: Melchior Ndadaye is the first Hutu ever elected to the post.

9 June: Agreement concerning refugees and internally displaced people. An estimated 500,000 displaced people are reported to
return home.

24 June: Arusha protocol on inclusion of RPF in the army and the gendarmerie, and specifications on the transitional institutions.

8 July: The Hutu extremist Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) starts broadcasting.

16 July: The Prime Minister's transitional mandate expires.

17 July: A new government is formed with Agathe Uwilingiyimana as Prime Minister. This results in a division within MDR.

23-24 July: Extraordinary congress of MDR. Its president, Faustin Twagiramungu, is excluded from the party.

25 July: A more detailed agreement (on military matters) is signed in Kinihira. It is also agreed that Twagiramungu will be Prime
Minister when the new transitional government is established.

4 August: Rwanda's government and RPF sign an accord in Arusha to end the civil war, allowing for power-sharing and the return
of refugees.

5 October: The UN Security Council approves a 2,500-strong peacekeeping force to Rwanda, the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR).

17-18 October: 37 MRND supporters are killed in the Ruhengeri area.

21 October: A military coup takes place in Burundi, in which Hutu President Ndadaye is killed. The ethnic violence that follows
results in tens of thousands of dead and some 600,000 Burundis fleeing into neighbouring countries. Escalated political and ethnic violence in Rwanda.

1 November: The UN starts placing UNAMIR forces in Rwanda.

30 November: At least 20 people are killed when RPF forces break the cease-fire and attack government troops in north-western
Rwanda.

28 December: 600 RPF soldiers arrive in Kigali in accordance with the Arusha agreement.

1994: GENOCIDE

30 December 1993-5 April 1994: Transitional government fails to take off, with each side blaming the other for blocking its
formation.

6 April: President Habyarimana of Rwanda, President Ntaryamira of Burundi and a number of government officials are killed in a plane crash in Kigali. President Habyarimana's death sparks violence and widespread massacres in Kigali, which spread throughout the country in a systematic and organised campaign carried out by the Hutu public on orders from civil servants and the security forces. The violence soon escalates, mainly targeting the Tutsi population as well as Hutu moderates. There are a million victims in barely one hundred days.

7 April: Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana is killed by government forces. Ten Belgian UN peacekeeping soldiers, who were guarding her, are disarmed by the Presidential Guard and killed. As a result, Belgium withdraws its forces. The 600 RPF soldiers in Kigali leave their headquarters.

8 April: RPF forces in northern Rwanda launch an offensive. FormerSpeaker of parliament Theodore Sindikubwabo announces the formation of an interim government and declares himself interim President. Prime Minister: Jean Kambanda (MDR).

11 April: Relief officials estimate that as many as 20,000 people have been killed in Kigali alone in five days of violence. With
foreign journalists out of Rwanda, news from the country is restricted.

12 April: The interim government moves from Kigali to Gitarama as RPF threatens the capital.

21 April: The UN Security Council resolution No. 912 reduces the UNAMIR peacekeeping force in Rwanda from 2,500 to 270 men with
an unchanged mandate.

End of April: An estimated 250,000 people are stream across the Rwandese border to seek refuge in Tanzania, reportedly the largest mass
exodus of people ever witnessed by UNHCR.

30 April: UN Security Council affirms the need to protect refugees and help restore order, but does not mention peacekeepers. At
least 100,000 people have been killed and more than 1.3 million have fled their homes.

17 May: The UN Security Council passes a new resolution (No. 918), approving the deployment of 5,500 UNAMIR troops to Rwanda.

22 May: RPF forces gain control of the airport in Kigali and the Kanombe barracks, and extend their control over the northern and
eastern parts of Rwanda.

17 June: France announces its plan to the UN Security Council to deploy 2,500 troops to Rwanda as an interim peacekeeping force
until the UNAMIR troops arrive.

22 June: The UN Security Council narrowly approves a resolution (No.929) to dispatch 2,500 French troops to Rwanda
(Opération Turquoise) for a two-month operation under a UN peace-keeping
mandate.

28 June: The UN Human Rights Commission's special envoy releases a report stating that the massacres were pre-planned and formed
part of a systematic campaign of genocide.

4 July: RPF wins control of Kigali and the southern town of Butare. Its leadership states that it intends to establish a government based on the framework of the Arusha accords. French troops in south-western Rwanda receive orders to halt the RPF advance.

5 July: The French-led operation has established a "safe zone" defined roughly by the préfectures of Gikongoro, Cyangugu, and Kibuye. As RPF advances towards the west, the influx of displaced persons into the zone increases from an initial 500,000 to an estimated 1 million within a few days.

13-14 July: As a result of RPF's advance in the north-west, an estimated 1 million people begin to flee towards Zaire. Approximately 10,000-12,000 refugees per hour cross the border and enter the town of Goma. The massive influx creates a severe humanitarian crisis, as there is an acute lack of shelter, food, water, and
non-food relief items.

15 July: Members of the Hutu government escape to the French "safe zone". UN Security Council orders cease-fire.

18 July: RPF announces that the war is over, declares a cease-fire and names Pastor Bizimungu as President with Faustin Twagiramungu as Prime Minister.

19 July: The new President and Prime Minister are sworn in, and RPF commander Major-General Paul Kagame is appointed Defence
Minister and Vice-President.

End of July: The UN Security Council reaches a final agreement on sending an international force to Rwanda.

24 August: End of Opération Turquoise. UNAMIR forces take over from the French.

October: The UN estimates that there are now about 5 million people in Rwanda, compared to 7.9 million before the war.

8 November: UN Security Council adopts a resolution (No. 955) on the establishment of an international court for war criminals
of Rwanda.

24 December: An exile government is announced among Hutu refugees in Zaire.

1995

22 April: Panic and a stampeed following a shoot out between RPF and armed Hutu militiamen lead to hundreds of deaths at the Kibeho camp for internally displaced persons in south west Rwanda.

April: Refugees are forced to return to their home districts from the camps for internally displaced persons.

23-26 August: Zaire expels refugees from the Goma camps and threatens to expel all refugees. UNHCR takes up a discussion with Zaire.

28 August: Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu resigns.

31 August: New Prime Minister, Pierre-Céléstin Rwigyema, and ministers approved in a cabinet reshuffle.

7 September: The UN Security Council adopts a resolution on the establishment of an international commission of inquiry on the sale and supply of arms and related material to the former Rwanda government forces in violation of the UN embargo implemented on 17 May 1994 (Resolution 1013 1995).

13 September: Zaire closes its border with Rwanda following bomb explosions in Goma.

17 October: A Supreme Court is established by an act of parliament.

2-6 November: An international conference on genocide, impunity and accountability is held in Kigali.

7 November: Clash between the army and Hutu rebels on Lake Kivu Island. Many people are reported killed.

23 November: The prosecutor of the International Court for War Criminals of Rwanda, Judge Goldstone, signs his first indictment.

28-29 November: A summit meeting of leaders of the Great Lakes Region takes place in Cairo, Egypt.

14 December: The UN Security Council extends UNAMIR's mandate in Rwanda for an additional three months to 8 March 1996 (Resolution 1019). The Force will be reduced from 2,100 men to 1,400 and
concentrate its activities on the return of refugees.

A Chronology of Rwanda

Compiled by Benjamin Sehene