Interahamwe

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The Interahamwe (Kinyarwanda meaning Those Who Stand Together or Those Who Fight Together) was the most important of the militias formed by the Hutu ethnic majority of Rwanda. Together with the smaller Impuzamugambi and state army and police forces they were responsible for over 800,000 deaths in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.

Robert Kajuga, a Hutu, was the President of the Interahamwe. The Second Vice President of Interahamwe was Georges Rutaganda.

Following the liberation of Rwandan capital Kigali by the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), many members of the Interahamwe fled to neighbouring countries, most notably to what at the time was Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. Not officially disbanded, members still take part in border raids, such as those that led to the First and Second Congo Wars.

Once the Interahamwe moved to Zaire they and the Hutu ex-government soldiers began to be known as the Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (roughly, Democratic Rally for Rwanda). Following the recruitment of significant numbers of Congolese Hutu the organization took the name Armée de Libération du Rwanda (ALiR).

[edit] Origin of the Name

If the name 'Interahamwe' is translated as 'Those who fight together', then it can be broken up as follows: 'Intera' is derived from the verb 'gutera', meaning 'to attack'. The 'hamwe' means 'together' and is related to the word 'rimwe' for 'one'.

English speakers usually pronounce it as 'in-ter-a-ham-we', though it is properly pronounced as 'i-nhe-ra-ha-mwe' in Kinyarwanda. However, Rwandans sometimes, when speaking English will pronounce it in the English manner. The difference can be observed by listening to Paul Rusesabagina in the 'Return to Rwanda' feature of a 'Hotel Rwanda' DVD, and to the translator for a survivor of the Nyarubuye massacre in 'Ghosts of Rwanda'. In the movie 'Hotel Rwanda', the name is consistently erroneously spelled and pronounced as 'Interhamwe' ('in-tər-ham-we').