The government of Burundi has accused Rwandan government being behind a deadly attack that Red Tabara claimed to have carried.
Gunmen from the Red Tabara rebel group killed nine people and injured others in an overnight attack in western Burundi near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.
Red Tabara has been fighting Burundi’s government from bases in Congo since 2015.
In a post on social media platform X, Red Tabara said it had attacked two Burundian military positions on Sunday night, also seizing weapons and ammunition.
The rebel group said six soldiers had been killed in the attack.
Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye in late December accused Rwanda of hosting and training Red Tabara after a separate attack in which the government said at least 20 people had been killed.
In an official statement on X (Former twitter) by the Burundi Government, it accused Rwanda of sheltering and arming the military rebels which has been causing deaths in Burundi.
“The government of Burundi further deplores the behavior of Rwanda which harbors, trains and arms the Red Tabara, a terrorist group which continues to destabilize Burundi with attacks targeting innocent populations and demands the extraction of the mastermind of this terrorist group harbored in Rwanda.”, read the statement.
Rwanda’s position
In an interview with Africa Daily, Yolande Makolo the spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda said it has nothing to with RED-Tabara.
“We have nothing to do with RED-Tabara. it’s actually a militia that is located in South Kivu in eastern DRC, they are not in Rwanda, they are not supported by us, we have nothing to do with it. Burundi should deal with that problem on their own with the DRC and not try to involve Rwanda in something that does not concern us.”
This came after Rwanda had deplored the inflammatory and un-African statement made Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye during an event in Kinshasa on 21 January, 2024.
The statement by the Rwandan Government said that ” Rwanda has no interest in creating conflict with our neighbours. We will continue to work with partners in the region and beyond to foster stability and continued development.”
