Foreign relations of Rwanda Several west European and African nations, Canada, People's Republic of China, Egypt, Libya, Russia, the Holy See, and the European Union maintain diplomatic missions in Kigali. Rwanda is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Commonwealth of Nations since November 2009; and the East African Community, which may become the East African Federation. The country is also a member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA). Foreign relations of Rwanda Rwanda has been the center of much international attention since the war and genocide of 1994. The country is an active member of the United
Kigali down near Kigali Airport. This was the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, in which 500,000–1,000,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government. Opposition politicians based in Kigali were killed on the first day of the genocide, and the city then became the setting for fierce fighting between the army (mostly Hutu) and the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). On 8 April, Rwandan government forces attacked the RPF base in the parliament building from several directions, but RPF troops successfully fought back. The RPF then began an attack from the north