Bubanza : armed attack by rebels from the DRC in Buringa

Detonations of heavy and light weapons were heard Saturday evening in the Buringa zone, in Gihanga district, Bubanza province (western Burundi). The attackers reportedly came from Rukoko Park located along the river Rusizi separating Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Red Tabara, an armed group of Burundian origin based in South Kivu (eastern DRC) claimed responsibility for the attack. The provisional toll shows two people killed and one injured. The material damage is reported to be considerable. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

On Saturday, around 9:30 p.m., grenade explosions and crackling sounds of automatic weapons were heard in the Buringa zone.

According to a resident of this zone, it was a group of heavily armed men.

“They first targeted a vehicle which was going to Bujumbura commercial capital), the vehicle was completely burned. One of the passengers was burned alive. Another was shot and killed. The remains of this vehicle were removed by members of the security forces”, he explained.

These attackers riddled another vehicle which was parked with bullets.

“The car allegedly belonged to Éric Badogo, a resident of Buringa. They also targeted a motorcycle which was damaged. They also threw grenades in a bistro and left after the intervention of the security forces”, said another resident of the center of Buringa.

The inhabitants of this area deplore this attack whereas the Rusizi park is guarded by the army day and night.

“With this attack, nothing reassures us, our security can be disrupted at any time”, worryingly said a resident.

Dozens of soldiers and police were deployed in the area until the morning of Sunday. They claimed to have managed to repel the enemy.

The police and local administration have not yet commented on this attack, but a high-level delegation went to the scene, a senior police officer in the region confirmed to SOS Médias Burundi.

Red Tabara, an armed group of Burundian origin based in South Kivu and considered a terrorist movement by the Burundian authorities, claimed responsibility for the attack.

On X known as twitter, it indicated “to have attacked and destroyed a guidance antenna of planes approaching the Bujumbura airport, located in the Gihungwe locality“ not far from the place where the two persons had been killed.

“The Red Tabara resistance fighters present in Burundi can strike anywhere and at any time”, added the armed group. But on Sunday, President Ndayishimiye and his wife used the same airport to travel to Nairobi to attend an environmental summit.

Last June, residents reported an incursion by armed men into the Kibira natural reserve. They had used the area.

Since 2015, armed men from the DRC have tried to occupy Kibira from the region. Attempts which have failed until today.