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Government rejects Burundi request to hunt rebels

[Senegal] Artisanal or traditional fishing boats in their bright colours on the beach at Soumbedioune, Dakar. Rob Annandale/IRIN
Type de pirogue utilisé pour convoyer les immigrants clandestins vers l'archipel des Canaries
Tanzania has rejected a request by Burundi that it be allowed cross the border into Tanzania and arrest rebels, or that Tanzania conduct a crackdown against rebels who flee into the country after military clashes in Burundi, the Tanzanian ‘Guardian’ daily has reported. The newspaper quoted Defence Minister Edgar Maokola-Majogo as saying that rebels who crossed the border into Tanzania were regarded as “normal refugees” under UN rules and regulations, and that Burundian troops giving chase into Tanzania would cause “chaos and confusion” along the border. If refugees were trouble-makers or endangered other people’s lives, they would normally be repatriated, Maokola-Majogo added. The minister also denied allegations that Tanzania was training Burundi rebels, the ‘Guardian’ reported.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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