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Security has been “restored” in the northwestern Kayanza Province following last week’s spate of attacks on several communes by rebels believed to be members of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD), the Burundian news agency Net Press reported on Tuesday. The rebels had attacked the communes of Matongo, Muruta, Gatara and Kayanza to take “revenge” against provincial administrative officials who had, with the help of the national army, made frequent incursions into the Kibira forest on Burundi’s border with the DRC.
The Kibira forest has been used by the rebels as their hide-out, although the civilians have also fled to it as a “refuge”. “Matongo Commune was particularly targeted since it had repatriated the biggest number of civilians who had taken refuge in the Kibira forest - 8,500 people out of a total of 11,000, including 5,000 who had become combatants,” Net Press said. Military and local sources confirmed to IRIN that there had been attacks in Kayanza Province all through last week, but now “calm has been restored”.
According to a military source, the rebels moved into Kayanza from the Kibira forest.
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
