Latest news with #Burundians
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Burundi Holds Legislative Elections Amid Tight Presidential Control
Burundians have gone to the polls on Thursday in a vote for the 123-seat National Legislative Assembly. This election is seen as a test of Evariste Ndayishimiye's presidency. Ndayishimiye has been the president of Burundi since the 2020 election. He secured the leadership of the ruling party CNDD-FDD after the death of previous president Pierre Nkurunziza. Despite being credited for ending Burundi's long period of isolationism, Ndayishimiye has been criticised for his poor human rights record. This election has been tightly controlled by the government as according to one commentator the government is taking no chances. The opposition has been constrained with popular opposition leader Agathon Rwasa being ousted while abroad in 2023. There have been multiple accusations that this was due to a government backed internal party coup d'etat. Many other opposition leaders have been banned from running in the election with rival parties constrained. Gabriel Banzawitonde, leader of the APDR, the alliance pour la paix la démocratie et la réconciliation, stated that 'people are so intimidated that they tell you that you cannot wear any party colours other than the ruling party ones'. Human rights observers have criticised the high-level of intimidation that voters have experienced particularly from the violent CNDD-FDD student organisation There remain several widespread issues within Burundi including, rising inflation to around 40%, chronic shortages in essentials like oil, and large levels of poverty at around 66%. This has led to growing popular dissatisfaction within the country. Despite this Ndayishimiye's party is almost certain to win the presidential election. While casting his ballot in Gitega province the president made a statement 'the population is driven by patriotic spirit, democracy is rooted in Burundi.' The president argued that the high voter turnout was a positive sign, but this might not be the case as one man stated that he was scared because 'some officials check if you have voted.' This election demonstrates clearly that Burundi is still an African one-party authoritarian dictatorship under President Ndayishimiye. Tags: Africa politicsBurundiBurundi electionslegislative electionspolitics
The Star
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
South Sudan hosts over 550,000 refugees, asylum-seekers: UN
JUBA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan hosts 552,333 refugees and asylum-seekers across 140,445 households, settled in 29 locations nationwide as of March, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said this includes 548,430 registered refugees and 3,903 asylum-seekers. The UNHCR said the majority of the refugees and asylum-seekers are from neighboring Sudan, which has faced a two-year conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. "The vast majority -- 94.9 percent (520,815 individuals) -- are Sudanese refugees, followed by populations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, and other nationalities," the UNHCR said in its latest report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. In response to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the UNHCR said the South Sudanese government continues to grant prima facie refugee status to those fleeing the country. Among the refugees, 51 percent are women and 77 percent are women and children combined, according to the UN agency. It said the asylum-seeker population is smaller and has a distinct demographic profile, with Ethiopians comprising 35.8 percent and Eritreans 29.3 percent, followed by Burundians, Ugandans, and Congolese.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Burundi says Rwanda has a plan to attack it, Rwanda calls for calm
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye said he had seen "credible intelligence" that Rwanda has a plan to attack his country, whose forces have battled Rwandan-backed rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. He did not elaborate on the alleged plan, which was dismissed by Rwanda, and said he hoped the problem could be resolved through dialogue. "We know that he has a plan to attack Burundi," Ndayishimiye told the BBC in an interview, referring to Rwandan President Paul Kagame. "Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters," he said. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, described the statement as "unfortunate", adding in a post on X that the two countries were holding discussions and had agreed on the need for military and verbal de-escalation. Ndayishimiye's comments underscored the regional stakes of the conflict in eastern Congo, where an advance by M23 rebels since January has captured swathes of territory and killed thousands. A war in eastern Congo from 1998-2003 drew in more than half-dozen foreign armies. This time, Rwanda has sent arms and troops to support M23, according to the United Nations, while Burundian troops have been fighting alongside Congolese forces. Rwanda denies supporting M23, saying its forces are acting in self defence against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali. Burundi has had troops in Congo for years to hunt down Burundian rebels there. It withdrew most of its 12,000 troops from Congo in February, a Burundian officer and diplomatic sources told Reuters. Burundian and Rwandan officials have met several times in recent weeks and agreed for the Rwandan army and M23 not to occupy the Congolese territory of Uvira, which is close to Burundi's commercial capital Bujumbura, according to four sources with knowledge of the talks. The two countries have confirmed meetings have taken place, without going into specifics.
Euronews
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Burundi president claims Rwanda plans to incite war in his country
ADVERTISEMENT The president of Burundi has claimed that neighbouring Rwanda is planning to foment a conflict in his country, warning that it is backing a rebel group in an effort to destabilise its neighbour, citing "credible intelligence". In an interview with the BBC, President Évariste Ndayishimiye claimed that Rwanda's plan resembled what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a long-established paramilitary rebel group, M23, has swept through key parts of the country in an effort to seize control. The group is widely thought to be supported by Rwanda, which denies taking any direct role in the conflict. In his interview, Ndayishimiye claimed that the Rwandan government intended to first trigger instability and then claim it had started without external involvement. "They would say it's an internal problem when it's Rwanda (who is) the problem," he said of the government led by his counterpart, President Paul Kagame. "We know that he has a plan to attack Burundi. Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters." Ndayishimiye also accused Rwanda of fomenting a failed coup in Burundi in 2015, but said he had no intention of going to war. "We don't have any plans to attack Rwanda," he said. "We want to resolve that problem by dialogue. "We are calling on our neighbours to respect the peace agreements we have made. There is no need for us to go to war. We want dialogue, but we will not sit idle if we are attacked. We don't have anything to ask (of) Rwanda, but they refuse because they have a bad plan — they wanted to do what they're doing in the DRC." Ndayishimiye has not provided any evidence for his claims. Rwanda has rejected Ndayishimiye's words as "surprising" and said there was no plan to spark conflict in Burundi. The government in Kigali has also denied links to rebel groups in Burundi and insists the two countries are cooperating to secure their border. A crisis deepens Meanwhile, Burundi is seeing its largest influx of refugees in decades as tens of thousands of people flee the fighting in the eastern area of DRC. According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), as Congolese government troops fight Rwanda-backed rebels who now hold two major cities, the number of registered refugees who need food assistance has doubled since January and now stands at 120,000. The decades-long conflict in eastern DRC escalated in January when the M23 rebel group seized the strategic city of Goma. The following month the group took the city of Bukavu, which lies less than 30 miles from the Burundi border. The presidents of DRC and Rwanda met last week in Qatar for their first direct talks since the cities were seized. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region. The conflict has created one of the world's largest and longest-running humanitarian crises, displacing more than 7 million people displaced over the years. ADVERTISEMENT Many of those displaced to neighbouring countries including Burundi have escaped lethal violence only to face serious food insecurity. WFP warned yesterday that its funds for operations in Burundi are 'stretched to the limit' and likely will be exhausted in June. It said it might have to "suspend food assistance entirely' from July or earlier.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda planning to attack Burundi, president tells BBC
Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye tells the BBC he has seen "credible intelligence" that Rwanda plans to attack his country, and that Rwanda had tried to launch a coup a decade ago in Burundi akin to "what it's doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo" now. Rwanda has already hit back, calling the president's comments "surprising" and insisting the two neighbours are cooperating on security plans for their shared border, which has been shut for over a year. Despite extensive UN evidence, Rwanda has always denied arming and backing the M23 rebel group, which has recently seized large parts of eastern DR Congo alongside Rwandan troops. Rwanda has also denied links to the resurgent Red Tabara rebel group, which President Ndayishimiye says is a proxy force similar to the M23 and is being supported by Rwanda to destabilise Burundi. "They would say it's an internal problem when it's Rwanda [who is] the problem. We know that he [Rwanda's President Paul Kagame] has a plan to attack Burundi," Ndayishimiye added. "Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters." "But now we don't have any plans to attack Rwanda. We want to resolve that problem by dialogue." At the heart of Ndayishimiye's comments was a call for peace and the full implementation of an agreement between the two nations - a peace deal that had been signed in previous years but, according to Burundi, had not been honoured by Rwanda. "The people who did the 2015 coup [were] organised by Rwanda, and then they ran away. Rwanda organised them – it went to recruit the youth in Mahama camp. It trained them, it gave them arms, it financed them. They are living in the hand of Rwanda," he alleges. "If Rwanda accepts to hand over them and bring them to justice, the problem would be finished." Who's pulling the strings in the DR Congo crisis? Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo What's the fighting in DR Congo all about? "We are calling on our neighbours to respect the peace agreements we have made," Ndayishimiye added. "There is no need for us to go to war. We want dialogue, but we will not sit idle if we are attacked." "We don't have anything to ask [of] Rwanda [in return], but they refuse because they have a bad plan - they wanted to do what they're doing in the DRC." The Rwanda-Burundi border remains closed long after Red Tabara rebels carried out several attacks on Burundian soil. While the situation with Rwanda is critical, it is not Burundi's only problem. To the west, the ongoing conflict in mineral-rich DR Congo has reached a boiling point with rebel groups, militias, and foreign parties vying to control the country's valuable resources. "External forces are responsible for perpetuating this conflict. They do not want peace in the DRC because they want to continue looting its resources," Ndayishimiye tells the BBC. "The crisis in the DRC is not about the people - it is about the minerals." The solution, he argues, is to bring all parties to the table, including "all opposition political parties and armed groups", who must "sit together and see together how they can create the best future for all citizens." But in his view it all depends on whether Rwanda will show willing. "The problem between Rwanda and the DRC is a small problem, they can resolve it without killing people. For example, I hear that Rwanda says it is going there [to DRC] because of the FDLR [a Rwandan rebel group accused of links to the 1994 genocide]. "But who [is being] killed? All I see is Congolese - why do they kill Congolese when they say they are looking for FDLR?" Since M23 rebels and Rwandan troops began seizing cities in eastern DR Congo in January, war has forced many hundreds of thousands of Congolese people to flee the violence and their homes. So desperate are they to find safety that some have even crossed the Rusizi river in makeshift vessels or swum to reach Burundi, despite the dangerous journey killing many people including a three-year-old child. Living precariously in refugee camps, some say they want to go back to their country but complain that the Burundi-DR Congo border is closed. This is something Burundi's president denies. "No, our border with the Congo is not closed. Where did they pass to come into Burundi? Even today they can use [the Rusizi river] to go back." When told by the BBC that crossing the Rusizi rivers puts refugees in a position of danger, Ndayishimiye replies: "You know, we didn't invite them. "They can go back, we will not refuse them to go back. But when they are here, they are as our visitors. If a visitor comes your house – it's you who chooses the room where he will stay. Even the food they have is what we share. They can't say I will eat meat when you are eating fish." For the war to end and the Congolese to achieve lasting piece, Ndayishimiye says the mandate of international forces in DR Congo should be expanded so that they can engage the rebels. He has also stated that Burundi forces will not be withdrawn from DR Congo until Burundi is assured that its borders are safe. Earlier this month, Southern Africa leaders announced that their forces would be withdrawn from DR Congo where they were helping fight the M23, after at least 19 were killed. 'I risked drowning to escape being recruited by Congolese rebels' Is Trump mulling a minerals deal with conflict-hit DR Congo? 'They killed all these young people' - BBC investigates alleged massacre in rebel-held Congolese city Go to for more news from the African continent. 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