The President of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, has told the BBC that he has seen credible intelligence reports that Rwanda is planning on attacking Burundi.
In addition, Ndayishimiye claims that Rwanda was behind an attempted coup in Burundi ten years ago.
He also said that Rwanda was backing the Red Tabara rebel group, which had launched attacks in Burundi. Ndayishimiye said the group was a Rwandan proxy group, similar to the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which most analysts and observers believe is also a Rwandan proxy army.
Kigali said the claims were “surprising” and that the two countries were working together on security plans for the shared border, which has been closed for a year.
Ndayishimiye said he preferred dialogue, but also said his country would not “sit idle” if attacked.
[Photo: SE Evariste Ndayishimiye Président de la République du #Burundi (2020-2027) @GeneralNeva]