At least 12 rebels from the Burundian armed group based in the province of South Kivu in eastern Congo have been detained in the central prison of Bujumbura called Mpimba for almost two weeks. This Tuesday, the spokesperson for the FDNB (National Defense Force of Burundi) revealed a plan to exhibit Red-Tabara rebels soon. The armed group, for its part, declared to have inflicted heavy losses on the Burundian army.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Twelve fighters from the Red-Tabara movement were transferred to the central prison of Bujumbura called Mpimba on Friday, November 15. Sources close to this armed group claim that « our fighters had just spent a year in detention in the Military Police (MP) dungeons ». The Military Police is also based in the commercial city of Bujumbura.

« When they arrived at the prison, they were directly taken to isolation, far from other detainees in a cell called the ‘red room' », a prison source who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals told SOS Médias Burundi.

According to this source, these fighters (all men) had just spent several months in the Military Police dungeons. « I cannot be specific. Very few people have precise information on this group », he added.

Prisoners’ representatives too, who normally have a lot of information on the new occupants, do not have details on this group that « the other detainees have not seen ».

SOS Médias Burundi did not have details on the place of their arrest or the exact number of months they spent in the Military Police.

Unexpected announcement

On his X account (formerly Twitter), Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza, in charge of communications and public relations within the FDNB, announced that the army was preparing to exhibit Red-Tabara rebels.

« […], The FDNB will present to you live testimonies of the captured Red-Tabara and others who surrendered to our forces on the ground, » he wrote on Tuesday. The announcement was made after the release of a statement from the rebels reporting heavy losses of the Burundian army. According to the document, « at least 9 officers including a colonel – head of an operational command center, were killed in the Mwenga sector in the province of South Kivu (eastern Congo) on the morning of November 25 ». The statement added that several weapons and ammunition were also seized during this « large-scale » attack.

« […], Red-Tabara takes no glory in confronting compatriots who are fighting for a cause that does not concern the nation but only a small group of the CNDD-FDD regime (the ruling party in Burundi)…. », says this document signed by Patrick Nahimana, military spokesman for the rebellion.

Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza spoke of a statement that contains « lies as the spokesperson for Red-Tabara is used to doing every time this movement has suffered heavy losses in its adventures ». « Let no one give value to what was reported in the senseless statement ».

This will be the second time that Red-Tabara elements are exhibited and brought to justice as a group. In March 2023, the Burundian justice system had sentenced former rebels to life imprisonment, some of whom had been handed over to Burundian military intelligence by Rwanda.

It is not yet clear whether the rebels who will be shown to the press and the public are those detained in Bujumbura prison or those and another group. The communication from the FDNB spokesperson does not give any details on this.

Red-Tabara remains on the Burundian government’s list of terrorist movements.

Burundian soldiers in pursuit of him were sent to South Kivu in mid-August 2022 as part of a bilateral partnership between the Burundian and Congolese governments. At the same time, they are participating in operations alongside the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) to fight local armed groups.

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Red-Tabara fighters presented to the press in the SNR (National Intelligence Service) premises in Bujumbura, November 16, 2021 (SOS Médias Burundi)