Rwanda. The Insurgency in the Northwest

September 1998

19980901

Rwanda. The Insurgency in the Northwest

InsurgencyNorthWest.pdf

19584847 bytes

223

African Rights

Livre

EN

Rwanda's northwest region of Ruhengeri and Gisenyi has become the theater for sustained clashes between insurgents, organised and led by the former army, and the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA). Based on interviews with former military and civilian insurgents, survivors of the violence, residents of the northwest, local government officials and RPA soldiers, The Insurgency in the Northwest documents a cross-section of incidents, examines all the aspects of the violence and brings them together in an effort to understand the political and social context which facilated the insurgency and which has made it intractable. It discusses the aims, strategies and identities of the insurgents, the network of internal and external allies which they have established, their source of arms and the economic and social impact of the insurgency. It follows the evolution of the insurgency, looking at the impossible pressures upon civilians, and analyses the government's response. Linked to conflicts in neighbouring countries, it is also a source of profound regional instability. The insurgency in the Northwest puts forward suggestions for alleviating the distress of local people and for addressing some of the pertinent regional issues.