Nine people, including a soldier, were killed in western Burundi on Sunday in an attack by the rebel group RED-Tabara, which said it killed six members of the security forces, the government said on Monday.
RED-Tabara (Resistance for the Rule of Law in Burundi), the main armed group fighting the regime led by Evariste Ndayishimiye, has a base in South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and is now the most active rebel groups in Burundi, with an estimated strength of 500 to 800 fighters.
The attack occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday in Buringa, about 20 km north of the economic capital Bujumbura and on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the country where RED-Tabara's base is located.
“Terrorists of the RED-Tabara group armed with rifles attacked a household in full mourning,” the Burundi presidency accused in a press release, continuing that “in this cowardly attack” nine people died, including six women and “ a soldier who intervened”. support the population.
Five people were also injured, according to authorities, who condemned a “heinous and barbaric act.” The Presidency also regretted that the headquarters of the ruling CNDD-FDD party had been “vandalized.”
In photos released by the rebel group, a building in the ruling party's colors can be seen destroyed.
According to a security source contacted by AFP who requested anonymity, the rebels killed 10 civilians and five soldiers and destroyed the party headquarters “with rocket launchers.”
In late December, the government accused RED-Tabara of killing 20 people, including 19 civilians, in an attack on a town again near Bujumbura. The armed group that claimed responsibility for the attack said it had killed ten soldiers.
In its press release, the Burundian presidency once again accused its Rwandan neighbor of supporting the rebels and reiterated that Kigali “maintains, trains and arms” the RED-Tabara.
As a result of these allegations, Burundi closed its border with its neighbor in January. Kigali, in turn, denied any support for the rebels and claimed to be “in no way associated with any of Burundi’s armed groups.”
According to Congolese and Burundian sources, since late 2021, RED-Tabara attacks have been focused on South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Burundian forces have been sent to hunt them down.
The authorities in Kinshasa and Gitega have always denied this presence.
A thousand soldiers were also officially deployed to North Kivu as part of an East African Community (EAC) force set up from November 2022.
They withdrew on December 11 after this regional force's mission was not renewed.