Government blames rebels from DRC for Kamenge fighting

Burundi radio over the weekend gave more details about Friday’s violence in Bujumbura’s Kamenge zone. It said security forces entered the area after rebels allegedly launched an attack there. Five rebels were killed, and four soldiers injured, according to the radio. Local residents panicked and fled in the early hours of the morning, but later returned to their homes. Interior Minister Colonel Ascension Twagiramungu blamed rebels who, he said, had infiltrated from the DRC via the Rukoko forest and Lake Tanganyika. He said they included Rwandan Interahamwe and ex-FAR soldiers. “Their objective was to cause insecurity because the capital is a sensitive area in political and economic terms,” he declared. “The attacks were for political publicity.”