Tutsi which the Hutu then in power killed an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 people, largely of Tutsi origin. Victorious in the aftermath of the genocide, the RPF came to power in July 1994. Tutsis speak Rwanda-Rundi as their native language. It is a member of the Bantu subgroup of the Niger–Congo family. Rwanda-Rundi is subdivided into the Kinyarwanda and Kirundi dialects, which have been standardized as official languages of Burundi and Rwanda. Rwanda-Rundi is also spoken as a mother tongue by the Hutu and Twa. Additionally, many Tutsis speak French, the third official language of Rwanda and Burundi, as a lingua franca. The
Origins of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa area may have assimilated some South Cushitic pastoralists. In general, the Tutsi appear to share a close genetic kinship with neighboring Bantu populations, particularly the Hutu. However, it is unclear whether this similarity is primarily due to extensive genetic exchanges between these communities through intermarriage or whether it ultimately stems from common origins: [...]generations of gene flow obliterated whatever clear-cut physical distinctions may have once existed between these two Bantu peoples – renowned to be height, body build, and facial features. With a spectrum of physical variation in the peoples, Belgian authorities legally mandated ethnic affiliation in the 1920s, based