1. Rwanda & Darfur

2.  What might be some reasons why genocide has occurred in Africa?

3.  Genocide is not unique to Africa but is a problem that persists even to this day.  Genocide in Africa typically occurs over issues of religion or ethnicity.  Africa has seen several genocides in the last 20 years in Sudan, Democratic Rep. of Congo, Somalia, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

4.  Two of the worst were/ are in Sudan and Rwanda  Genocide in Africa has been abundant for two reasons: hundreds of ethnic groups that live close to each other lack of strong government since the withdraw of the colonial powers

6.  Rwanda is a tiny African nation in the heart of the Congo in central Africa.

7.  There were two major ethnic groups in Rwanda.  Hutus’ vs. Tutsi’s: The Tutsi made up only about 14% of the population but were part of the ruling class when Belgium ruled the country.  The Hutu were a majority but were oppressed under Belgian rule.

8.  The Rwandan genocide started in 1994 when President Jevenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down by most likely by a Hutu group, who then blamed the ethnic group the Tutsis.

9.  Most of the Tutsi’s that were killed in the Rwandan genocide were hacked to death by machetes.

10.  When the blood shed was over, hundreds of thousands of people were dead and thousands more displaced. Mass graves were discovered and the remains gathered.

11.  Thousands of people were hacked to death and the bodies were just left behind creating mass graves.

12.  800,000: the number estimated to be killed by the Hutu during the genocide in Rwanda. It only lasted a few months.  So many people were murdered because the government armed a militia that killed unarmed civilians.  Many around the world including the U.N. and President Clinton would not acknowledge the atrocities as genocide and therefore would not intervene.

13.  Many men remain wanted by international authorities for the Rwandan genocide.

14.  The region of Darfur is mainly the southwestern part of the nation of Sudan in central Africa.

15.  The genocide in Darfur has been led by President Omar al- Bashir trying to eliminate the non Muslim population in Sudan.

16.  Attacks by the Muslim government on the Christian civilian population of Sudan have resulted in people being shot, hacked to death and burned alive.

17.  While the people of Sudan have been attacked by their own government, there are armed resistance groups trying to stop the genocide such as the N.R.F.

18.  One of the side effects of the genocide in Darfur is the mass exodus out of Sudan. Make shift towns likes these are made to house the 2 million or so refugees that have tried to flee the country.

19.  Because there has been little attention to the genocide in Darfur, actors like George Clooney use their fame to be very out spoken about stopping the genocide.

20.  The genocide has been masked by the ongoing civil war in Sudan with little help coming from outside of Africa.  People around the world have asked whose responsibility it is to stop the genocide.  A poll taken said that the U.S. & China should step in and help.

22.  In 2011 South Sudan won its independence from Sudan to form its own nation.  Unfortunately it has not ended the violence in the region.  Today the two countries continue to fight.  To date about 500,000 have died in Sudan.

23.  Why has genocide occurred in Africa?  Why don’t we hear about genocide in Africa?  How have the actions of Europeans aided in the advancement of genocide in Africa?