Interahamwe



The Interahamwe is a Hutu extremist paramilitary group that is best known as being the main perpetrator of the Rwandan Genocide, during which an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutus were killed over the course of 100 days from April to July 1994.

Both Théoneste Bagosora and Georges Rutaganda were high-ranking leaders of the Interahamwe.

The Interahamwe was formed in 1994 as the youth wing of the MRND, the ruling party of Rwanda, and enjoyed the backing of the Hutu-led government.

Following the end of the Rwandan Genocide and subsequent of the civil war in July 1994, the Interahamwe were driven out of the country by Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), who had seized control of the government, and today are mostly active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

As of 2019, the Interahamwe are still active, but they have most of their power and the threat they pose is greatly diminished. They are considered a terrorist organisation by many African and Western governments.

The Interahamwe and splinter groups such as the FDLR continue to wage an insurgency against Rwanda from neighboring countries, where they are also involved in local conflicts and terrorism.