About fifteen people have reportedly died in an attack by gunmen, in Bugarama district, Rumonge province, Southern Burundi, according to eyewitness.
The attack which started on Sunday and carried over into Monday, occurred as Rwanda is holding local elections, and many people have fled the scene of the fight to seek refuge in the bush, as soldiers confront the gunmen.
A resident, who escaped the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity narrated his ordeal and said, “The gunmen kidnapped everyone they met and killed them before engaging in fighting with the army on Sunday morning.”
The fight which grows fierce into Monday, was not expected and has been reportedly said to be connected with recent repatriation of refugees in Rwanda, which holds a thousand of them fleeing 2015 violence in Burundi.
“The government anticipated that armed groups opposed to the government will attempt to carry out attacks ahead of the first repatriation of refugees from Rwanda,” said, a senior government official.
However, a Burundian rebel group, Red Tabara, has claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account. It was also said that about nine policemen and 20 militants have been neutralized.
The group, also in the statement demanded disarmament of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and other militia groups.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was found by Hutu officials, who fled the country after causing the up rise in tension and lives.
Burundi which has an ethnic Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, has been faced with ethnic-based and politically motivated violence.
The Burundi 12-year long civil war that left 300,000 people dead is just an instance of the tension fraught Burundi.
