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How many Banyamulenge are there in Congo?
The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caused more than 6 million lives, with casualties continuing in North Kivu and South Kivu. In the late 1990s, political scientist René Lemarchand stated that the main ethnic groups claimed the Banyamulenge numbered around 50,000 to 70,000.
What caused the Congo genocide?
The most deciding event in precipitating the war was the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994, which sparked a mass exodus of refugees known as the Great Lakes refugee crisis. During the 100-day genocide, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and sympathizers were massacred at the hands of predominantly Hutu aggressors.
What was the Banyamulenge in the Congo?
The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caused more than 6 million lives, with casualties continuing in North Kivu and South Kivu. In the late 1990s, political scientist René Lemarchand stated that the main ethnic groups claimed the Banyamulenge numbered around 50,000 to 70,000.
What happened to the Banyamulenge refugees?
In August 2004, 166 Banyamulenge refugees were massacred at a refugee camp in Gatumba, Burundi by a force composed mostly of National Liberation Front rebels.
How many Banyamulenge are there?
In the late 1990s, political scientist René Lemarchand stated that the main ethnic groups claimed the Banyamulenge numbered around 50,000 to 70,000. Gérard Prunier quotes around 60,000–80,000, a figure of about 3–4 percent of the total provincial population. Lemarchand notes that the group represents “a rather unique case of ethnogenesis “.
Why did Banyamulenge join the RPF?
From the beginning of the 1990s, many Banyamulenge youth crossed the border into Rwanda to enroll in RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) training camps. As the attacks on the Banyamulenge community became increasingly violent in 1993, more and more Banyamulenge joined forces with the RPF.