Cibitoke: Rwandan FLN rebels sow fear among the population near Kibira

For two weeks now, residents of the hills near Kibira, Gafumbegeti and Rutorero Butahana zone of Mabayi commune, Cibitoke province, have said they are in panic fear of the Rwandan FLN rebels who are forcibly obtaining supplies from the population. They are calling for a reinforced presence of law enforcement to chase away these gunmen and arrest the people who collaborate with them. The municipal administration confirms the facts and indicates that it is already collaborating with the security forces. The commander in charge of operations in the Mabayi and Bukinanyana communes reassures. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The local populations of the Kibira natural forest, the Gafumbegeti and Rutorero hills, Butahana zone say they are on alert.

They fear an attack by the Rwandan rebels of the National Liberation Front (FLN) who have been established for almost a decade in this immense natural forest.

According to a local source, for two weeks, this Kinyarwanda-speaking armed group has been collecting agricultural products from residents willingly or by force.

A security source confirms that certain senior military officers of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) regularly receive money from these rebels to provide them with food.

“The situation of increased shortage of foodstuffs is observed in the ranks of the rebels. For fear of dying of hunger, they are starting to obtain supplies from households by force,” warns a resident of Gafumbegeti hill who has already fled the places with his family to find refuge in the Buganda commune located in the Imbo plain.

Another resident of Rutorero hill, also on the verge of leaving, claims ”to be no longer able to provide food to the armed group and above all to support its presence because it is likely to cause insecurity on the borders between the two countries (Rwanda and Burundi)”.

According to local information, the comings and goings of these rebels intensified following diplomatic tensions between Burundi and Rwanda.

The same information reports more frequent shuttles of these rebels between Burundi and the DRC.

With the support of certain high civil and military authorities in Burundi close to the ruling party, these rebels who are fighting against Kigali have a plan to launch attacks in the southwest of Rwanda from Kibira considered as their rear base, report sources within the Burundian army.

Residents wonder why civil and military officials give no explanation as to the reason for the proven presence of these rebels.

At the same time, they demand that they put incapacitated these armed men who disturb the tranquility of peaceful citizens.

The administrator of Mabayi admits to being aware of this information and plans to meet with military officials working in this immense natural forest to put an end to this situation.

Jeanne Izomporera urges the population to “redouble their efforts by collaborating with the defense and security forces to provide them with more information in order to precisely locate the place where these Rwandan rebels are established inside Kibira”.

Contacted on this subject, the person in charge of military operations in the Mabayi and Bukinanyana communes said that patrols in Kibira have been increased in recent weeks to drive out this armed group. He called on the inhabitants of the hills concerned to dissociate themselves from these armed Rwandan men.