Arusha Agreement

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The Arusha Agreement is a peace agreement between the Rwandan civil war parties. It was signed on August 4, 1993 .

After about two and a half years of civil war in Rwanda , the two warring parties met with representatives of the Organization of African Unity ( OAU - the predecessor organization of today's AU ) in the Tanzanian city ​​of Arusha to negotiate a peace agreement.

On one side were the rebels of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) under Major General Paul Kagame and their political arm, the CND (Conseil national pour le développement). The English language RPF had developed in the 1980s. After the declaration of independence of the former Belgian colony Rwanda, some political unrest arose and the Tutsi ruling class , formerly supported by the colonial power, was replaced. Many therefore fled to Uganda and formed the RPF.

On the other side of the demilitarized zone (from 1993) stood the French-speaking, Hutu- dominated government troops of then President Juvénal Habyarimana and the ruling party of the MRND . In the Arusha Peace Agreement, a ceasefire was agreed, the formation of a transitional government initiated, the demobilization of the armies and other peace measures decided.

Since the African Union was unable to monitor the peace in Rwanda, a UN contingent was requested. The result was the formation of UNAMIR .