Rebels, government accused of abuses

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported abuses in the government’s regroupment camps by both the army and rebel groups. In a report issued on Wednesday, entitled “Emptying the Hills”, HRW said tens of thousands of people were still languishing in the camps, despite a government pledge to close them down. The government ordered people into the camps last September to protect them from an offensive aimed at flushing out rebels in Bujumbura Rural province. “But people are more likely to die in the camps, from hunger and disease, than they are in their own villages,” the report said.

“When soldiers and rebels fought in and around the camps, residents could not flee the fighting and some were shot and killed.” The report accused government soldiers of raping women and torturing suspected rebels. It also accused the rebel Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL) of violating international humanitarian law. “The rebels have used the civilian camps as bases for attacking nearby military posts,” it said. “This exposes civilians to the risk of injury and death, and violates the rules of war.” The FNL was also guilty of rape and killings, as well as recruiting child soldiers, the report added.