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Encyclopedia > ALIR

The Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (French: Armée pour la Libération du Rwanda, ALiR) was a rebel group largely composed of members of the Interahamwe and Armed Forces of Rwanda that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Operating mostly in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the border with Rwanda, it carried out attacks throughout the Second Congo War against forces aligned with Rwanda and Uganda. In 2000, the ALiR agreed to merge with the Hutu resistance movement based in Kinshasa into the new Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). ALiR was largely supplanted by the FDLR by 2001. Look up rebellion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Interahamwe (Kinyarwanda meaning Those Who Stand Together or Those Who Fight Together) was the most important of the militias formed by the Hutu ethnic majority of Rwanda and, together with the smaller Impuzamugambi, was responsible for over 800,000 deaths in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. ... The Rwandan Genocide (French: Génocide au Rwanda) was the massacre of an estimated 800,000 to 1,071,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during a period of about 100 days from April... Combatants Government-aligned forces, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda-aligned forces, Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Government: Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila Rwanda: Paul Kagame, Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, others Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda was the primary anti-Rwanda rebel group during the latter part of the Second Congo War. ...


History

The killing during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide was largely carried out by the national army, the Armed Forces of Rwanda (FAR) and the civilian Interahamwe. Following the invasion of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) led by Paul Kagame, many FAR and Interahamwe fled across the border into Zaire. During the resulting Great Lakes refugee crisis, these two groups combined into the Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (RDR). The increased intensity of cross-border attacks by the RDR led the Rwandan government to secretly arm the ethnically Tutsi Banyamulenge and organize the creation of a proxy rebel group, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. The AFDL invaded Zaire in late 1996 in what became known as the First Congo War. The AFDL and their Rwandan and Ugandan allies forced the refugees back into Rwanda and scattering the RDR fighters to countries such as Zambia, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, Burundi and Tanzania. The AFDL continued on to Kinshasa, overthrowing Mobutu Sese Seko and installing Kabila as president in 17 May 1997. Kabila then announced that the name of the country was being changed from Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Rwandan Genocide (French: Génocide au Rwanda) was the massacre of an estimated 800,000 to 1,071,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during a period of about 100 days from April... The Interahamwe (Kinyarwanda meaning Those Who Stand Together or Those Who Fight Together) was the most important of the militias formed by the Hutu ethnic majority of Rwanda and, together with the smaller Impuzamugambi, was responsible for over 800,000 deaths in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. ... The Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) is the national army of Rwanda. ... Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the current President of Rwanda. ... Refugee camp in Zaire, 1994 The Great Lakes refugee crisis is the common name for the situation beginning with the exodus in April 1994 of over two million Rwandans to neighboring countries of the Great Lakes region of Africa in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide. ... The Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (RDR) was an insurgent group operating in the eastern region of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) against the government of Rwanda from 1995 to 1996. ... The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu. ... The Banyamulenge are a group of Tutsi living in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ... The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War (1996-1997). ... Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko until his assassination in January 2001. ... Combatants AFDL, Uganda, Rwanda Zaire Commanders Laurent-Désiré Kabila Mobutu Sésé Seko Casualties Civilians killed: 200,000+ The First Congo War was a conflict from late 1996 to 1997 in which Zairean President Mobutu Sésé Seko was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers such as... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa za Banga (October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997), known commonly as Mobutu, or Joseph Mobutu-Sese Seko, born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965–1997). ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


While Kabila was completing his rebellion, the RDR remnants reformed and recruited new Hutu fighters from eastern Zaire into a new organization, the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, which had become active in eastern Zaire by early 1997. The ALiR's political wing, the Party for the Liberation of Rwanda (PALIR), maintained the old goal of overthrowing the Kagame government and regaining power, to which it added the objective of expelling the foreign invaders, thereby giving it more appeal to local populations. There were also concerns that it intended to continue the genocide against the Tutsis. Even before regaining a military presence, a letter allegedly sent by the ALiR threatened to kill the American ambassador to Rwanda and other U.S. citizens in retaliation for support to Rwanda. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ...


By July 1998, the alliance between Kabila and his Rwandan and Ugandan sponsors had broken down. Kabila ordered the foreign forces out of the country, prompting Rwanda and Uganda to create another rebel group, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), to overthrow Kabila in the Second Congo War. Kabila then began to provide military support to ALiR, many members of which he had tried to kill less than two years previously, in order to weaken the RCD and foreign military forces in eastern Congo. The Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) is a Congolese rebel group operating in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ... Combatants Government-aligned forces, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda-aligned forces, Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Government: Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila Rwanda: Paul Kagame, Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, others Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo...


As the war grew into the most deadly conflict since the Second World War, several thousand ALiR fought carried out guerrilla attacks behind the front lines. In 1999, eight tourists from the U.S., United Kingdom and New Zealand and a Ugandan game warden were killed while in Uganda's Bwindi National Park, along the border with the DRC. The tourists were tracking rare mountain gorillas and were apparently targeted as English language speakers. One captured French diplomat was released with a message condemning the U.S. and UK for their support of Rwanda. The act of violence largely destroyed Uganda's tourist industry for years. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Trinomial name Gorilla berengei berengei Matschie, 1914 The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of two subspecies of Eastern Gorillas. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...


For the next several years, the battle lines stabilized and the war stagnated at Uganda and Rwanda competed to extract resources from the rich mines and forests of eastern Congo that they occupied. The ALiR continued to carry out attacks upon both opposing armed groups, as well as civilian populations that they thought supported their enemies. Following Kabila's assassination in 18 January 2001 and the rise of his son Joseph, the ALiR consolidated forces with a Kinshasa-based Hutu group to form the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). While never officially disbanded, ALiR lost its separate identity under the FDLR. Despite official declarations from the FDLR that they have given up armed resistance, groups descended from ALiR continue to fight in eastern Congo. January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2001. ... Joseph Kabila Kabange (born June 4, 1971), known commonly as Joseph Kabila, became president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the assassination of his father Laurent-Désiré Kabila in January 2001. ... The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda was the primary anti-Rwanda rebel group during the latter part of the Second Congo War. ...


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