Burundi Shuts Border with Rwanda amid Row  

GOOBJOOG NEWS | KIGALI: The Rwandan government has said Burundi has shut its border weeks after accusing its neighbor nation of supporting rebels who launched attacks on its soil.

In December, Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye 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), allegations which Rwanda has rejected.

“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.

Rwanda added that it learned about Burundi’s decision through media reports, a government spokesperson told Reuters, adding it violated the principles of a regional bloc both are part of.

“This unfortunate decision will restrict the free circulation of people and goods between the two countries and violate the principles of good cooperation and the integration of the East African Community,” Rwanda said in a statement.

Relations between some nations within the bloc have been frosty for years amid domestic disputes, which also include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.

Red Tabara has been battling Burundi’s government from bases in eastern Congo since 2015.