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The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) (in Kinyarwanda: ''Ingabo z'u Rwanda'') is the national army of Rwanda. Most of its personnel formerly served in the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). The RDF comprises:〔Rwandan Ministry of Defence, (Law Establishing Rwanda Defence Forces ), LAW N° 19/2002 of 17/05/2002, J.O. n° 13 of 01/07/2002〕 * the High Command Council of the RDF * the General Staff of the RDF * the Rwanda Land Force * the Rwanda Air Force * specialised units In November 2002 Emmanuel Habyarimana was removed from his post as Minister of Defence, an action which government spokesperson Joseph Bideri attributed to his "extreme pro-Hutu" views. Marcel Gatsinzi became Minister of Defence (in office 2002-2010) in succession to Habyarimana. After it conquered the country in July 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide of April to July 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) decided to split into a political division (which retained the RPF name) and a military division, which would serve as the official army of the Rwandan state. Defence spending continues to represent an important share of the national budget, largely due to continuing security problems along Rwanda's frontiers with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi, and lingering concerns about Uganda's intentions towards its former ally. The Rwandan government launched an ambitious plan to demobilize thousands of soldiers, resulting in a standing military of 33,000 and another 2,000-strong paramilitary force - a decrease from 70,000 in just a decade. During the First and Second Congo Wars of 1996-2003, the RPF committed wide-scale human-rights violations and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the United Nations Mapping Report.〔 (United Nations Mapping Report: DRC 1993–2003 ) 〕 ==Historical outline 1962-1994== The U.S. Army's ''Area Handbook for Rwanda'', compiled in 1968-9, describes the security forces of Rwanda in 1969 as the 2,500 strong National Guard and the National Police, about 1,200 strong.〔Richard F,. Nyrop, 'Area Handbook for Rwanda,' DA 550-84, research completed April 1, 1969, p.184-185〕 The National Guard had been established two years before independence and had gained experience by repelling small Tutsi invasions in 1963 and 1964. It was under the direction of the Minister of Defence, Juvénal Habyarimana, who also held the function of Chief of Staff of the National Guard in mid-1969. At that time it was composed of a headquarters, an intervention group (effectively an infantry battalion), five other rifle companies, and five independent rifle platoons. The ''Forces armées rwandaises'' (FAR) was the national army of Rwanda until July 1994, when the government collapsed in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide and the war with the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The FAR was estimated at 7,000 strong, including approximately 1,200 members of the Gendarmerie. Elite troops included the Presidential Guard, estimated at between 1,000-1,300 troops, as well as the Paracommando and Reconnaissance units.〔Des Forges, 1999, p.43〕 These two units were of battalion strength by 1994, and then counted a total of 800 troops.〔Des Forges, 1999, p.194〕 In response to the RPF invasion of 1990, the 5,000-man FAR rapidly expanded, with French training assistance (as many as 1,100 French troops were in Rwanda at a time〔Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis, p.163, cited in Des Forges, 1999, p.118〕), to some 30,000 by 1992.〔Alison Des Forges, 'Leave None to Tell the Story,' Human Rights Watch, March 1999, ISBN 1-56432-171-1, p.60〕 The Arusha Accords, signed on August 4, 1993, laid out a detailed plan for the integration of the Rwandan Government and Rwandan Patriotic Front military forces.〔See (Arusha Accords ), hosted at University of Ulster, pages 49-71〕 The Rwandan government was to provide 60% of the troops for the new integrated army, but would have to share command positions with the RPF down to the level of battalion. The new army was to consist of no more than 19,000 soldiers and 6,000 Gendarmerie.〔Des Forges, 1999, p.124-125〕 However radical elements within the Rwandan government were implacably opposed to implementation of the Accords and, instead, began the planning that would lay the foundations for the genocide. The Reconnaissance Battalion's commander, François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, and his subordinates played a key role during the genocide. Together with the Reconnaissance Battalion, the Paracommando Battalion under Major Aloys Ntabakuze and the Presidential Guard under Major Protais Mpiranya became the three most significant ''genocidare'' units. Col. Marcel Gatsinzi was briefly named chief of staff of the armed forces from April 6 to April 16, 1994, but was replaced by Augustin Bizimungu, who was quickly promoted to major general, since Col. Gatsinzi opposed the genocide.〔Des Forges, 1999, p.264〕 Bizimungu was only briefly chief of staff before fleeing the country. Many soldiers of the FAR have since been implicated by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the genocide, including its leader during the genocide, Col. Théoneste Bagosora, who was chief of the ''cabinet'' (private office) of the Ministry of Defence prior to the genocide. Other top leaders in the FAR were implicated in the assassination of the Rwandan president, Juvénal Habyarimana, which sparked the genocide. Many elements of the former Rwandan regime, including soldiers of the FAR, fled to eastern Zaire after the RPF victory, where they formed the Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (RDR), which later became the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is still active in eastern Congo's North Kivu Province. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rwandan Defence Forces」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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