The minority Tutsi (around 14 percent of the population) and the majority Hutu have had a history of ethnic clashes since the 19th century.

The massacres were not driven solely by an ethnic hatred of one group, the majority Hutu, against the minority Tutsi, she said.

This shift in power provided the minority Tutsi with access to power and privilege, completely shifting social conceptions.

Although Hutu hold official posts, minority Tutsi dominate the government and the military.

The planned force will not intervene in fighting between the rebels, predominantly from the minority Tutsi tribe, and the Hutu-led government forces.

Most victims were minority Tutsis or Hutu opposition supporters.

But the force, once numbering 2,500, was ordered not to interfere when the killing of minority Tutsi began on April 7, 1994.

For two years, they have refused to return, fearing retribution for the 1994 genocide of minority Tutsi in which many took part.

The government, dominated by the minority Tutsi, has wiped out the distinctions by decree.

In Rwanda, the political power was transferred from the minority Tutsi to the majority Hutu.