Twenty people, 19 of them civilians, were killed in an attack in western Burundi, the government said Saturday, while the RED-Tabara rebel group that claimed responsibility for the operation said it killed ten members of its security forces. East African country.
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The confrontation occurred on Friday night in the town of Vugizo, about 20 km from Bujumbura, the economic capital and border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). where the combatants of that insurgent organization have their rear bases.
The RED-Tabara (Resistance for a Rule of Law in Burundi) are the main armed opposition group to the regime led by Evariste Ndayishimiye.
The government said in a statement that this “cowardly attack” targeted civilians and left 20 dead, “among them 12 children, five of whom were under 5 years old; three women, two of them pregnant; and five men, including a police officer who was trying to help civilians.
The incursion also left nine injured, according to the official statement, which condemns a “terrorist, abominable and barbaric action.” The RED-Tabara indicated on the social network Military and security sources told AFP that the attack was initially directed against “a military position.”
But “there were civilians who found themselves between two fires and died, before the combatants retreated to the DRC,” said a Burundian official who requested anonymity and confirmed a total death toll of 20.
🇧🇮 | At least 20 people were killed, including 12 children, 2 pregnant women and a police officer, in an attack on Friday night near the border between Burundi (West Africa) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by gunmen not identified, said a… pic.twitter.com/3RHBvntK3R
— WORLD ALERTS 🗺️ (@AlertasMundial) December 23, 2023
The RED-Tabara group, created in 2011, has between 500 and 800 combatants, and since 2015 it has been blamed for most of the attacks and ambushes in Burundi. Evariste Ndayishimiye, who took power after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza in June 2020, said on several occasions that he was willing to “dialogue” with insurgent groups.
But RED-Tabara indicated in a statement on November 13 that it ruled out any negotiations without the organization of “democratic, free, inclusive and transparent elections.”
EFE
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