Why Burundi has shut its borders with Rwanda: summary

What we know

• Burundi shut its border with the East African nation on January 11, weeks after the Burundian president accused it of hosting a rebel group.
• Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye in late December 2023 accused Rwanda of hosting and training the Red Tabara rebel group, which claimed responsibility for an attack near Burundi's western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• Rwanda has rejected the allegations.
• The Rwandan government has responded to the border closure, saying it "regrets the unilateral closure of the border by Burundi".
• Rwanda learned about Burundi's decision through media reports, adding it violated the principles of a regional bloc both are part of.
• It is not the first time Burundi has shut its border with Rwanda. In 2015 it shut its borders with Rwanda amid mutual claims of supporting rebel groups and then because of COVID-19.
• The RED-Tabara group, which has a base in the DRC, emerged in 2011 and is now the most active of Burundi's rebel forces with an estimated 500 to 800 fighters.

What they said

"Today we closed the borders. And someone who will go there will not pass," Burundi's interior minister Martin Niteretse was quoted as saying by the local media, reports International media Reuters. He said Rwanda shelters criminals who harm Burundians. “Rwandan nationals, we don't want them,” Niteretse was quoted by The East African. "This unfortunate decision will restrict the free movement of people and goods between the two countries, and violates the principles of regional cooperation and integration of the East African Community," said the Office of the Rwandan Government Spokesperson in a statement.