Hutus and Tutsis

Hutus and Tutsis Hutus and Tutsis are tribes that live in Rwanda, Africa. The history of these two tribes is rather complicated which is why it led to many conflicts between the two tribes throughout the years. In the 2008 BBC News article “Rwanda: How the genocide happened”, these two tribes are described as being a like one another. Even though they are named differently, they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas, and also follow the same traditions. The difference between the two types of people is that Tutsis are often taller and thinner than Hutus. The Rwandan Genocide was sparked by the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, who was an important Hutu figure. On April 6, 1994, his plane was brought down by a rocket attack that was apparently planned by a previous Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, who was the leader of a Tutsi rebel group at that time. The death of the Habyarimana led to the beginning of the genocide in Rwanda that involved Hutus and Tutsis. In order to avenge the death of Habyarimana, the Hutus retaliated against the Tutsis for killing their president, which led to as many as 800,000 Rwandan deaths; most of the deaths were Tutsis. The Hutus trained many people in the tribe to kill the Tutsis. Hutu soldiers and police officers encouraged Hutu civilians to take part in the genocide. The article “Rwanda: How the genocide happened” reports that the civilians in killing were often given incentives, such as money and food, and even the land of the Tutsis they killed. When the killings happened, the United Nations tried to step in to stop the conflict but later withdrew their troops because the genocide was too dangerous. In the article “U.N. admits Rwanda genocide failure” BBC Reports, “Most of the 2,500 UN peacekeepers in Rwanda at the time were withdrawn after the deaths of 10 Belgian soldiers”. This clearly shows that this genocide was far too dangerous for anyone to step in, especially an organization like the

Bibliography: "UN admits Rwanda genocide failure." news.bbc.co.uk. N.p., April 15, 2000. Web. 9 Aug 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/714025.stm>. . "Rwanda: How the genocide happened." news.bbc.co.uk. N.p., December 18,2008. Web. 9 Aug 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm>. . "The Rwanda Genocide." www.history.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Aug 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide>.  "The Heart of the Hutu-Tutsi Conflict." www.pbs.org. N.p., Octobber 8, 1999. Web. 9 Aug 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/africa/july-dec99/rwanda_10-08.html>.