The resulting civil war between the RPA and the Rwandan Government Army (RGF) of President Habyarimana was a disaster. The RGF did manage initially to defeat the RPA but only because of substantial help from France, including the dispatch of French forces. With French help, Rwanda’s army rapidly increased in size and in the next two years grew in all ranks from 5,000 to 28,000 and, thanks to France, Egypt and South Africa, was equipped with modern weaponry. Rwanda, one of the poorest of the world’s countries, became the third-largest importer of weapons on the African continent, partly by
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