Who were the main figures in the Rwandan Civil War?

The main figures in the Rwandan Civil War were Juvénal Habyarimana, Paul Kagame, and Théoneste Bagosora.

The Rwandan Civil War, which took place from 1990 to 1994, was a conflict primarily between the Hutu-led government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group largely composed of Tutsi refugees. The key figures in this conflict were Juvénal Habyarimana, Paul Kagame, and Théoneste Bagosora.

Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was the President of Rwanda from 1973 until his death in 1994. His regime was marked by ethnic tensions and human rights abuses against the Tutsi minority. Habyarimana's death in a plane crash, allegedly shot down by the RPF, sparked the infamous Rwandan Genocide.

Paul Kagame was the leader of the RPF. He had grown up in exile in Uganda, where he had been a senior figure in Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army, which helped Museveni take power in Uganda. Kagame and the RPF launched an invasion of Rwanda in 1990, starting the civil war. After the genocide, Kagame's forces took control of the country, and he has been the de facto leader of Rwanda ever since.

Théoneste Bagosora was a colonel in the Rwandan army and a key figure in the genocide. He was part of the Hutu Power movement, which was responsible for planning and executing the genocide. After Habyarimana's death, Bagosora declared himself the de facto ruler of Rwanda and played a significant role in the mass killings. He was later convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for his role in the genocide.

These three figures, each in their own way, played significant roles in the Rwandan Civil War and the subsequent genocide. Their actions and decisions had profound and lasting impacts on Rwanda and its people.