Cibitoke : Rwandan FLN rebels reported in some public places in Mabayi, the administration decides to close them

The measure announcing the closure of all activities in the center of Kivogero frequented by rebels speaking Kinyarwanda settled in the Kibira natural reserve was taken by the administrator of the district of Mabayi, in the province of Cibitoke (northwest Burundi ). This decision was badly received, especially by traders. The district administrator indicates that he took this decision as a security measure. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The decision comes from the administrator of the district of Mabayi in the province of Cibitoke for almost a week.

Targeted places are among others bistros, shops, restaurants and the market located in the village of Kivogero less than 2km from the town center of this district.

A military source reports that Rwandan rebels of the FLN, a rebel movement that fights the rule of Kigali, from the Kibira natural reserve got their supplies last Friday in this market.

“These hooded and Kinyarwanda-speaking men took away belongings consisting of food such as cassava flour, corn, beans and shoes. They returned to this natural forest bordering Rwanda”, our source said.

The same source indicates that this group benefits from the complicity of the Imbonerakure (members of the CNDD-FDD youth league) and certain elements of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) which facilitate their access and transport of purchased goods.

Grassroots administration officials say they are “shocked by this behavior at a time of warming diplomatic relations between Gitega and Kigali”.

Residents interviewed appreciate the measure taken by the administrator and demand that these rebels be fought. “It is inconceivable that men armed to the teeth take it easy and circulate in our town in full view of everyone without being worried”, laments an octogenarian met on the spot.

The same witness also specifies that these rebels have been based for a long time inside Kibira and are often seen especially in the rice fields of this immense natural forest in the districts of Mabayi and Bukinanyana.

The commander of the military operations currently being carried out in Kibira confirms all this information and indicates that offensives are underway to track down this Kinyarwanda-speaking armed group.

Last March, in a meeting between the governors of Cibitoke and the western province of Rwanda, the governor of the western region of Rwanda François Habitegeko asked Burundian authorities to instruct the population to “denounce rebels who come of the DRC in South Kivu where several militias and terrorist groups are installed passing through the districts of Mabayi and Bukinanyana especially to disrupt security on the Rwandan soil and kill peaceful citizens”.

“There must be an exchange of information and rebels caught must be presented to the population so that they denounce their accomplices, before being judged in accordance with the law”, insisted Mr. Habitegeko.