Withdrawal of Troops – 1993

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Withdrawal of Troops – 1993

1993

No Implementation No implementation

There was a record of presence of foreign troops in Rwanda after Ugandan based rebels, RPF, stormed into northern Rwanda and seemed to have made a gain against the pro-French regime in October 1990. According to a report, estimated 300 French troops, along with 600 Belgian paratroops and 500 soldiers from DRC seemed to have thwarted a potential assault on the capital.1 Presence of these foreign troops became contentious issues between the government and the rebel during the peace process and therefore the 1992 N’sele Cease-fire Agreement and the 1992 and the 1993 Protocol of Agreement on the Integration of the Armed Forces of the Two Parties had provision for the withdrawal of foreign troops. In February 1993, the FRP spokesperson in the northern city of Byumba accused that French troops were helping the government soldiers dig trenches and employ canons.2 The presence of France in Rwanda continued as the French Foreign Ministry affirmed that the reinforcement of contingent of 150 French paratroops were sent to Rwanda to protect “the French citizens living in this African country.”3 According to a report, France confirmed its 800-strong contingent stationed in Rwanda to protect French national but the rebel movement had accused the foreign troops, including French, of fighting on the side of the government.4 According to Human Rights Watch Report, France maintained as many as 1,100 there at one time; and as the Rwandan army expanded from fewer than 10,000 to more than 30,000 soldiers, the French gave training both the combatants and soldiers who would in turn serve as instructors for others.5 As of end of 1993, there was no report of withdrawal of foreign troops from Rwanda.

  1. “Dispatch of French Troops to Troubled Rwanda May Draw Fire in Paris,” The Washington Post, October 7, 1990.
  2. “Rwanda: France Denies Supporting Government Troops,” IPS-Inter Press Service, February 12, 1993.
  3. Ibid.
  4. “Wanda: OAU Sends Its Top Official to Negotiate Peace,” IPS-Inter Press Service, April 6, 1993.
  5. “Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda,” Human Rights Watch, 2004, accessed September 27, 2011, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/rwanda/index.htm#TopOfPage.