Cibitoke : Imbonerakure paramilitary exercises stir up tensions among the population

While the security situation remains fragile, paramilitary training conducted by the Imbonerakure in the province of Cibitoke is causing great concern. Their supervision by military instructors and their possible involvement in future elections are increasing tensions among the population.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The security situation in Cibitoke (northwestern Burundi) is becoming increasingly worrying. For the past two weeks, young people affiliated with the ruling party, the Imbonerakure, have been conducting intensive military training in the streets of the city and across the province’s six districts. These exercises, supervised by military instructors, are causing great concern among residents, especially since they are accompanied by patrols and political slogans hostile to the opposition and neighboring Rwanda.

According to security sources, these trainings are supervised by former members of the CNDD-FDD rebellion, the former Hutu rebellion that became the ruling party in 2005 thanks to the 2000 Arusha Agreement (Tanzania), elements of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) as well as members of the FDLR (Rwanda Liberation Forces), an armed group involved in the genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. The stated objective of these trainings is to prepare these young people to reinforce the military units engaged against the M23 and Red Tabara rebel groups in the Kivu region in eastern Congo.

After three days of theoretical training on combat and weapons handling, these young people would be sent to the field, on the other side of the Rusizi River, separating the DRC and Burundi. But beyond this military aspect, some sources report that their mission would also be to supervise the upcoming elections, ensuring that the vote is in favor of the ruling party, by persuasion or coercion.

Other testimonies indicate that Imbonerakure are deployed along the border, carrying out continuous patrols to monitor the movements of the population.

Faced with these accusations, the head of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD party in the new province of Bujumbura denies any paramilitary activity, stating that these trainings focus solely on patriotic values ​​and take place at the party’s provincial headquarters.

However, the structure and the very nature of these trainings only fuel the doubts and concerns of the local people, who live in an atmosphere of growing tension, uncertain about the future implications of these activities.

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Former CNDD-FDD and Imbonerakure combatants in a military parade in Cibitoke (SOS Médias Burundi)