In August 2004, exactly 10 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda deployed the country’s first contingency to a peacekeeping mission.

Under the auspices of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), the mission was mandated to curtail the humanitarian catastrophe that was boiling in the western part of the country, Darfur, which was bordering on an all-out genocide by Arab nomads against the native blacks.

Rwanda’s first contingent of 155 troops were also the first boots on the ground for the new peacekeeping mission, and the irony about the experience 10 years ago, with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (Unamir) was not lost on the troops, some of whom had participated in the military campaign that stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.  

This particular mission was to become a launch pad for Rwanda’s participation in peacekeeping missions in several countries and, currently, the country is the sixth major contributor of peacekeepers in the world.

According to Col. Emmanuel Rugazora, who commanded the first contingent, one of the main challenges they encountered was stereotype, where some of the military observers they met on arrival in Darfur doubted their professionalism.

"Some Ghanaian military observers took us as a warrior force that was going to call for fire unnecessarily. For instance, during the first general briefing, we put up our traditional morale songs and, this not being in their culture, they thought we were now sending a message of war, as warriors,” said Rugazora, in an interview with The New Times.

"The first briefing I had from the force commander was a caution that we must mind the Rules of Engagement,” he said, adding the Rules of Engagement had been translated into Kinyarwanda so that they are better understood by the forces.

Rugazora, who is currently the Base Commander, Rwanda Air Force (RAF), was a Major at the time of his deployment in Darfur.

He said the fact that he had been to the region before on a reconnaissance mission, which put him in better position to prepare his troops for the mission.

"I had the opportunity to go to Darfur before our deployment to study the area; what it looked like in terms of the size, the nature of the climate, the nature of the conflict and the expectations.”

He said during the reconnaissance trip, they were also briefed about the nature of the conflict, which 10 years down the road still persists, but the presence of the now-UN backed peacekeeping mission of which Rwanda Defence Forces are still part, has largely subsided.  

Leveraging RPA experience

The troops, some of whom were part of the liberation struggle, leveraged their RPA experience to effectively bring back peace in the vast region.  

"The experience we had is formidable. The fact that we had encountered numerous challenges and we were able to persevere gave me the confidence that there was nothing that could threaten the unit I was leading. I told my troops to take the assignment as a normal deployment despite the fact that they were going to a different environment. Conflicts are always similar in some way.” 

Language barrier

Despite the similarities between this conflict and the conflict back home (1990-94), the troops were faced with the problem of language barrier which made communication with the local people hard.

"In our conflict, we were dealing with our own people and could communicate with everyone effectively, but Darfur was different,” he said.

The language barrier problem did not only derail their communication with the locals, it was also a barrier between fellow peacekeepers, especially the Nigerian contingent that arrived about a month after Rwanda Defence Forces. On arrival, the Nigerian unit shared camp with their Rwandan counterparts for the first few days.

"The Nigerian contingent found us at El Fasher camp, which was congested. Though most of our troops could not speak English but somehow, they managed to communicate with the Nigerians. This surprised me.

"They helped orient them in the camp. It was so amazing; I really don’t understand how it happened. But we had a good time with them until they were deployed to other places,” Rugazora.

Deployment

The Rwandan contingent was meant to deploy in three sectors; El Fasher, Kapkabia and Nyala.

"However, when we deployed, because we were the only ones there, we were required to urgently establish other sectors and then my force was supposed to deploy in support of that task…we were supposed to be everywhere,” he says.

This was a challenge because of the vastness of the area and considering the limitations of command and control but according to Rugazora, the perseverance that is inculcated in the Rwandan military triumphed.

"We deployed a platoon in El Fasher (the headquarters), Kapkabia and Nyala. We also deployed sections (about 15 men), each at Al Janeina and Tine. Those sections and platoons effectively managed themselves and conducted operations very well.”

Malicious rumours

Meanwhile, as the Rwandan troops prepared to deploy in Darfur, a rumour had been circulating among the Darfurians that the Rwandans were coming to spread HIV/Aids.

"At first, there was a lot of hostility from the government. A week after we landed, there was a lot of newspaper publications talking about a Rwandan peacekeeper contingent coming to spread HIV/AIDS,” Rugazora said. 

However, the hostility immediately ceased because of the way the Rwandan peacekeepers conducted themselves, the officer noted, adding that the charisma of the RDF soldiers charmed even the most feared of the belligerents.

He recounts that one night during patrol, the troops had to spend a night in an area inhabited by Arab nomads known as the Janjaweed, who offered to give them milk. 

"The troops accepted the offer, ‘if you can share, you should also allow us to milk the cows ourselves’. This surprised, the Janjaweed.” 

"Do you know how to milk? Do you have cows back where you come from?” they asked our troops curiously.

He said when the Rwandan soldiers told the Janjaweed that Rwandans keep cattle, the nomads were excited. "They allowed the peacekeepers to go ahead and milk their cows and also drink the milk,” Rugazora narrates.

Nature of the conflict

"By virtue of the cease fire agreement in place then between rebel factions and the government, there was a bit of a lull in hostilities. But there were hostilities, especially in remote villages where you could find an Arab village attacking a non-Arab village. There would be interventions by rebel factions to defend their villages,” Rugazora adds.

He says it only escalated after they got there.

"By then we had only two rebel factions and between the two, there was some kind of co-ordination, but later, when they split up, the situation became worse and almost uncontrollable,” he says.

The mission, which was initially entirely funded by the African Union got a boost in 2007 through the creation of the first ever hybrid force, which saw it change name to UNAMID.  

Rwanda and peacekeeping

This particular peacekeeping mission was to be the birth of Rwanda’s peacekeeping prowess, not only in terms of restoring and maintaining security, but also participating in the social life of the people in the countries where they serve.

The unique approach to peacekeeping by Rwandan troops exports some of the country’s home-grown initiatives like the communal work (Umuganda), where facilities like schools and health centres have either been built or renovated.

Rwandan officers have also been appointed to head peacekeeping operations and currently, Maj Gen John Bosco Kazura, is heading the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma) as Force Commander.

The current Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Patrick Nyamvumba, was Force Commander of UNAMID for four years, with his tour of duty ending early last year, while the Director General of National Intelligence and Security Service, Lt Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, has also served as Deputy Force Commander of the same mission.   

Currently, the country maintains troops in Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Mali.

Besides soldiers, Rwanda has also been a major contributor of policing services, with deployments of Police officers in Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, Mali, Haiti and the Central African Republic.