Cibitoke : over 100 Rwandan FLN rebels killed by the Burundian army in Kibira

SOS Médias Burundi
Mabayi, May 8, 2025 – More than 100 Rwandan rebels from the FLN (National Liberation Front) were killed during intense fighting with the Burundian army in the Kibira forest, in Mabayi district, Cibitoke province, in the northwest of the small East African nation. These clashes, which began after the FLN refused to support Burundian forces against the M23 in the DRC, also left nearly ten Burundians dead. The panicked local population is calling for an end to rebel incursions and the restoration of lasting peace.
The Burundian army conducted two major offensives against Rwandan rebels of the National Liberation Front (FLN), who had been entrenched for several years in the Kibira natural forest. The most violent fighting took place in two phases : on March 8 and 9, and then on the weekend of May 3-4, 2025.
According to several military sources, more than 100 rebels were killed in total. On the Burundian side, nearly 10 soldiers lost their lives. One of the operation’s commanders claims that the assault was planned after the FLN refused to join Burundian troops deployed in the DRC to fight the M23 rebel movement.
« We surrounded their position during the night. They were well-armed but disorganized. » « We used the element of surprise to neutralize them, » confided a Burundian army captain deployed in Kumuzungu, Gafumbegeti hill, Butahana zone, Mabayi district.
The captured rebels claim to have fled eastern DRC after declining orders to participate in fighting alongside the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), supported by the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), the Wazalendo militias—supported by Kinshasa—and approximately 10,000 Burundian soldiers. President Évariste Ndayishimiye recently confirmed on France 24 that Burundian troops are still stationed in South Kivu, without revealing the exact number.
« Their refusal was seen as a betrayal. They were given an ultimatum, and they chose to flee to Kibira, » explained a senior Burundian officer on condition of anonymity.
During the operations, nine Kalashnikov assault rifles, two automatic pistols, and several rounds of ammunition were recovered. About thirty rebels were captured and transferred to Bujumbura, the commercial capital, for interrogation. Others, wounded, were found in the forest.
« Some surrendered at the first salvos, others fought to the bitter end. We also found wounded people abandoned by their comrades, » said a soldier.
The population of Mabayi, long exposed to FLN violence and abuses—theft, ransom, rape—is urging authorities to put an end to the insecurity.
« We saw the bodies in the forest, it’s scary, but we just want it to stop, » said a resident of Gafumbegeti.
eanne Izomporera, the administrator of Mabayi, confirmed the scale of the operation and assured that the rebels’ bodies were buried urgently to prevent any epidemic.
« We commend the work of our defense forces. Residents want to live in peace, » she declared.
The army promised to continue the offensives until armed groups in the region are completely dismantled.
« There will be no more sanctuary for armed groups in Kibira. This is a promise we make to the population, » declared the commander-in-chief of the operations.
The situation is all the more complex given that Burundian authorities have long been accused of collaborating with the FLN and the FDLR. Several leaders of these groups, hostile to Kigali, have stayed in Bujumbura in recent years. Fighting frequently broke out between the army and these rebels, particularly amid rivalries over illegal gold mining in the Kibira natural reserve.
Several senior officials of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, local administration authorities such as Nicodème Ndahabonyimana – former administrator of Mabayi – leaders of the Imbonerakure (CNDD-FDD youth league), and businessmen close to the regime have been arrested over the past three years, accused of colluding with these rebel groups.
In January 2024, Burundi closed its land borders with Rwanda, accusing Kigali of supporting armed groups seeking to destabilize the country and protecting putschists involved in the 2015 coup attempt against the late President Pierre Nkurunziza. The Kibira forest remains under increased military surveillance, while Burundian authorities promise to « restore order » in this long-uncontrolled area.
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A part of Kibira in northwestern Burundi where Rwandan rebels are based (SOS Médias Burundi)