Which ethnic groups were central to the Rwanda conflict?

Which ethnic groups were central to the Rwanda conflict?

• A. Hutu and Twa
• B. Hutu and Pashtun
• C. Hutu and Tutsi
• D. Tutsi and Yoruba

Answer: (C)

The central idea here is identifying which two ethnic groups were the main axis of the Rwanda conflict. In Rwanda, the long-standing tension was primarily between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Colonial rule helped entrench distinctions between these groups and often privileged Tutsis, which later contributed to power struggles after independence. When political instability erupted, the conflict intensified into mass violence, culminating in the 1994 genocide in which extremist Hutu factions targeted Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Twa are a smaller, distinct group in the region but did not sit at the center of the Rwanda crisis. Choices that point to groups from other regions, like Pashtun or Yoruba, do not fit Rwanda’s history.

The central idea here is identifying which two ethnic groups were the main axis of the Rwanda conflict. In Rwanda, the long-standing tension was primarily between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Colonial rule helped entrench distinctions between these groups and often privileged Tutsis, which later contributed to power struggles after independence. When political instability erupted, the conflict intensified into mass violence, culminating in the 1994 genocide in which extremist Hutu factions targeted Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Twa are a smaller, distinct group in the region but did not sit at the center of the Rwanda crisis. Choices that point to groups from other regions, like Pashtun or Yoruba, do not fit Rwanda’s history.