AFRICA/BURUNDI - Tension between Burundi and Rwanda: "there is a risk of an explosion in the Great Lakes region"

Bujumbura (Agenzia Fides) - "We risk a war that would invest the Great Lakes region" say local sources from Burundi to Agenzia Fides, where tension is increasing with neighboring Rwanda, after the deportation of a Rwandan diplomat, Desiré Ryaruhirira, the looting of the travel agency "Volcano" owned by unknown Rwandans and the expulsion of 48 Rwandans who have been residing in northern Burundi.
"It is believed that there will be the arrival in Burundi of men of the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), the guerrilla group that opposes the government of Kigali, who took refuge in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to help the local militias loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza, however the news has to be verified", say our sources.
"If this news is confirmed, there is a risk that Rwanda can attack Burundi with unimaginable consequences" say our sources with concern.
"This is because the President does not trust the army, which is internally divided and maintains a portion of its workforce engaged in peacekeeping missions abroad (in Somalia and Central Africa), so Nkurunziza relies on militias loyal to him, reinforced perhaps by men of the FDLR".
The situation in the capital of Burundi remains very difficult. Every night you hear gunfire and in the morning dead people are found in the streets. Since this morning Bujumbura has been under the strict control of the military on the occasion of the feast for the martyrs of independence which is being celebrated today, October 13", refer our sources.
The political crisis erupted in Burundi following the third term of Nkurunziza, violating the Constitution, is therefore likely to take on a regional dimension. "We are waiting for the establishment of a Commission for dialogue that will be social, not political, because it does not include the opposition groups who sought refuge overseas, particularly in Rwanda. We need true political dialogue to end the crisis" conclude our sources. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 13/10/2015)

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