Mabayi : six Rwandan rebels killed in clashes with FDNB

Six rebels belonging to an armed group of Kinyarwanda-speaking men were killed overnight from Thursday to Friday. Three soldiers were killed, according to security
and administration sources. The clashes took place on the hill of Mukoma, in the district of Mabayi in the province of Cibitoke (northwest Burundi). INFO SOS Médias Burundi

These clashes caused a displacement of the inhabitants towards the district capital. According to a security source, Kinyarwanda-speaking rebels left the Kibira natural reserve to forcibly get supplies in households near this huge natural forest.

“The soldiers posted there immediately opened fire, killing six rebels on the spot”, said a soldier who took part in the fighting.

According to him, three soldiers of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) were also killed. Six soldiers and three rebels were injured, according to local sources. Eleven rifles were seized by elements of the FDNB while at least ten houses were damaged by stray bullets.

“The bodies of the assailants were buried on the spot by Imbonerakure (members of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD, the ruling party) while the wounded were taken to Bujumbura (commercial city) for interrogating”, indicated to SOS Médias Burundi a grassroots administration official.

Local sources say that these Rwandan rebels benefit from the complicity of certain inhabitants and traders established near the Kibira natural reserve. The same information indicates, however, that the new political deal following the diplomatic warming between Kigali and Gitega has changed and the Burundian army is currently engaged in tracking down these rebels.

The commander in charge of operations in the districts of Mabayi and Bukinanyana says that search operations and night patrols will increase to “put these attackers out of harm’s way”.

A few months ago, the Burundian authorities had closed the bars and shops located not far from the border with Kibira in Mabayi in order to prevent the Rwandan rebels from coming to stock up on food in particular.

Several traders, members of the Imbonerakure league, local authorities, suspected of collaborating with these Rwandan rebels, have been arrested in recent years and sent to the central prison of Bujumbura known as Mpimba.