A total of 73,700 Rwandan troops, including 1,700 women, have been deployed to different hotspots around Africa as part of peacekeeping missions since 2004, the Minister of Defence, has said.

Maj Gen Albert Murasira was earlier Tuesday speaking to members of the Chamber of Deputies’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.

The deployments are under several arrangements, including United Nations peacekeeping missions, as well as bilateral arrangements with some countries.

Over the years, AU/UN missions where Rwanda has deployed include Darfur, South Sudan, Abyei region, Mali, and Central African Republic.

The country has also deployed thousands of troops under bilateral arrangements, notably in Central African Republic and Mozambique.

"In countries where we provide peace interventions, our forces are credited with observing high levels of discipline and professionalism,” said Gen Murasira, adding that Rwanda is the fourth largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.

Rwanda, which has also deployed police contingents around the African continent and in Haiti, has been recognised as "a giant of peacekeeping.”

After the loss of more than one million lives during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwandan officials say, there was a moral obligation to help prevent similar tragedy from happening elsewhere.

Just recently, the country deployed additional troops to Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado, where Rwanda, Mozambique and SADC troops have been fighting terrorists since July 2021.