The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict between the Hutu-led Rwandan Armed
Forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), founded by Tutsi
refugees. The war began on 1 October 1990 with an RPF invasion but the
army, assisted by French troops, had largely defeated the RPF by the end
of the month. Paul Kagame (pictured, left) took command of the rebels
and in a few months began a multi-year guerrilla war. In 1992, after a
series of protests, Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana (pictured,
right) began peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition
parties. Despite disruption by the extremist group Hutu Power and a
fresh RPF offensive, the Arusha Accords were signed in August 1993.
United Nations peacekeepers were installed, but Hutu Power was steadily
gaining influence. After the assassination of Habyarimana in
April 1994, between half a million and a million Tutsi and moderate
Hutu were killed in the Rwandan genocide. The RPF quickly resumed the
war, capturing the capital and taking control of the country by July.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Civil_War>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1940:
The first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, one of the
United States' first long-distance limited-access highways, opened to
traffic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Turnpike>
1998:
Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, was formed with the
ratification of the Europol Convention by all member states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europol>
2018:
The International Court of Justice ruled that Chile was under
no obligation to restore Bolivia's access to the Pacific Ocean, which it
had lost in the 19th century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obligation_to_Negotiate_Access_to_the_Pacific_Ocean>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
witch doctor:
A person who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical
powers; a shaman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/witch_doctor>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I still have complete confidence that the United States, if given
time, will resolve its problems. We have always been able to do that in
the past, whenever we faced difficult questions. The United States still
has that innate strength.
--Jimmy Carter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter>