US Believes Rwanda Involved In Burundi Crisis To Remove President Pierre Nkurunziza

The United States has expressed its belief that Rwanda is reportedly doing everything to destabilize troubled Burundi.  The U.S. officials think that Rwanda has high involvement in spreading Burundi crisis by recruiting refugees to launch attacks against President Pierre Nkurunziza's government.

Two American senior diplomats have said in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that they have colleagues who can assure that Rwandan in involved in Burundi crisis, Telegraph reports. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs further attested that the Rwandan government has been participating in destabilizing Burundi.  It is the first time for U.S., a strong supporter of Rwanda in the past, to accuse the government in Kagali of its participation in the Burundi crisis.

"There are credible reports of recruitment of Burundian refugees out of camps in Rwanda to participate in armed attacks by Burundian armed opposition against the Burundian government," said Thomas Perriello, US envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Perriello told the senate committee that he met three Burundian former child soldiers who were recruited in Rwandan camps. He claimed, the child soldiers were allegedly trained and brought to Congo to prepare them for attacks in their home country.  Despite the Burundi crisis allegations, the U.S. invited Rwanda's government to examine the claims, according to Bloomberg.  Burundi's Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe supported the U.S. claims stating that they've been thinking about the same thing for the last seven to eight months.

Nyamitwe also advised the U.S. to take action on the ranging Burundi crisis. Burundi has been in turmoil since Nkurunziza has announced his will to run for the third term in April. After winning, Burundi crisis erupted killing over 400 people. There are also at least 240,000 people who left the country, BBC adds. The tension heightened with reports claiming that Burudian refugees were allegedly recruited in Rwandian camp between May to June 2015 to launch attacks in Burundi. It is said that they were given two months of training.

Rwanda's Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo claimed that the allegations are "unfounded." The refugees have said that their mission is to remove Nkurunziza from his position.

Tags

Burundi Crisis, Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza, Rwanda, Burundi refugees

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