page_title: Ruanda-Urundi
section_title: Belgian military occupation, 1916–22
hierarchical_section_title: Ruanda-Urundi / History / Belgian military occupation, 1916–22
caption_attribution_description: English: Postage stamp of Belgium Congo overprinted for German Eastafrica occupied by Belgium, 1 franc, 1916Walon: Timbe do Congo bedje ricatchté po siervi dins l' Afrike levantrece almande, ki vneut d' esse ocupêye e 1916 Русский: Почтовая марка Бельгийского Конго, надпечатанная для Германской Восточной Африки, оккупированной Бельгией, 1 франк, 1916
context_page_description: Ruanda-Urundi was a territory in the African Great Lakes region, once part of German East Africa, which was ruled by Belgium between 1922 and 1962. Occupied by the Belgians during the East African Campaign of World War I, the territory was under military occupation from 1916 to 1922 and later became a Belgian-controlled Class-B Mandate under the League of Nations from 1922 to 1945. It was replaced by Trust Territory status under the auspices of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II and the dissolution of the League but remained under Belgian control. Ruanda-Urundi was granted independence in 1962 as the two separate states of Rwanda and Burundi.
context_section_description: World War I broke out in 1914. German colonies were originally meant to preserve their neutrality as mandated in the Berlin Convention, but fighting soon broke out on the frontier between German East Africa and the Belgian Congo around Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika. As part of the Allied East African Campaign, Ruanda and Urundi were invaded by a Belgian force in 1916. The German forces in the region were small and hugely outnumbered. Ruanda was occupied over April–May and Urundi in June 1916. By September, a large portion of German East Africa was under Belgian occupation reaching as far south as Kigoma and Karema in modern-day Tanzania and as far eastwards as Tabora. In Ruanda and Urundi, the Belgians were welcomed by many Africans who were opposed to the autocratic behaviour of the kings. The territory captured was administered by a Belgian military occupation authority ("Belgian Occupied East African Territories") pending an ultimate decision about its political future. An administration, headed by a Royal Commissioner, was established in February 1917 at the same time as Belgian forces were ordered to withdraw from the Tabora region by the British.
caption: A Belgian Congo stamp overprinted for the Belgian Occupied East African Territories in 1916
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