Rwanda
GENOCIDE THAT SHAPED AFRICA
The Tutsi
The Tutsi were the ethnicity that had a lot of governmental influence, although the Hutu far out numbered them. They gained their status long ago by having ten or more cattle to tend to.
The Hutu
The Hutu were the ethnicity that committed the genocide. They far outnumbered the Tutsi, and had enough power in the government to order such a large scale ethnic cleansing. The Hutu began as farmers, providing food to their families through agriculture.
Pre-Genocide
The Belgians took the rights to govern Rwanda from the Germans after World War 2, because the UN no longer trusted the Germans. Later, the UN asked Belgium to pull out of Rwanda, and let them govern themselves. The Tutsi tribe grabbed the reins, but the Hutu grew restless. The Hutu vastly outnumbered the Tutsi, as the Tutsi were the rich, elite minority, and the Hutu killed many Tutsi and scared the rest away. The Hutu won and overthrew of the Tutsi government, although some still remained in Rwanda. This, as well as the Tutsi that escaped to other countries, scared the Hutu.
Genocide
On April 6th, 1994, the President, who was a Hutu, was shot down in his plane. No one knows who committed it, but the Hutu elite used the incident to spark fear and outrage in the population. The following day, the Hutu leaders gave the order: kill the all of the Tutsi. The Hutu set up checkpoints all over Rwanda, to find and exterminate the Tutsi. Over 100 days, 1,000,000 people were killed, roughly 10,000 per day. When mobs went out to kill, very few members of the mob would actually murder someone, because one mob of 2,000 would set off to kill 100 Tutsi.
Stopping the Killing
On June 13th, the RPF, a Tutsi revolutionary force that was highly trained, came in and took power over the Hutu, stopping the killings nationwide. The Hutu simply accepted the power change, and stopped killing Tutsi, while the Tutsi that were still alive mourned over their dead friends and family.
Scale
This event affects things at a global, regional, and local scale.
Global-The French and United Nations Military forces were sent to help the Rwandans come through the conflict, and protect places such as airports and other places.
Regional-Rwanda was devastated by this ethnic conflict, and countries around Rwanda had to take in large numbers of Tutsi immigrants.
Local-Tutsi people lost their lives and their loved ones. Villages lost leaders and important assets that would have helped them develop.
A VERY Short History of Rwanda
HEY THERE!!
This has nothing to do with anything above, but after reading and watching all of this depressing stuff, this might help.