{Rwandan rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo are slipping across the border into Burundi, raising concerns that violence will escalate in the run-up to national elections, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said.}<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have information that some FDLR elements have crossed into Burundi from the Congo and might even get involved directly in the continued unrest in the country,\u201d Mushikiwabo said.<\/p>\n
The FDLR has been active in Congo since fleeing from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have appealed to Burundian counterparts and we are assured they will take necessary actions in not allowing FDLR to set up base in Burundi,\u201d Mushikiwabo told a local broadcaster.<\/p>\n
Opponents of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, a Hutu, have been demonstrating in the capital, Bujumbura, since he was nominated last month as the ruling party\u2019s presidential candidate, saying he\u2019ll flout a two-term limit. The president\u2019s supporters argue that he\u2019s only been popularly elected once because his first term was an appointment by parliament.<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court last week ruled Nkurunziza can legally run for a third and final mandate in the June 26 vote. The vice president of the court fled to Rwanda shortly before the ruling.
\n17 Dead<\/p>\n
The flare-up has disrupted years of relative calm since a peace accord in 2005 ended 12 years of ethnic conflict that left 300,000 people dead in the country.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, at least 17 people have died as protesters clashed with security personnel and 200 more have been wounded. More than 52,000 others have fled to neighboring countries, scared off by the rising violence, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency. Opposition activists last year accused the ruling party\u2019s youth militia, known as the Imbonerakure, of receiving paramilitary training in Congo.<\/p>\n
The U.S., European Union and African Union have called for the elections to be postponed until order can be restored.<\/p>\n
Burundi\u2019s Catholic Bishops Conference on Wednesday urged the government to ensure that independent media can broadcast in the country to ensure free and fair elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly government and pro-government media are working properly,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cOther radios are closed or partially closed. In these conditions, it is difficult to endorse the results of elections which take place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leaders from the five-nation East African Community — which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi — and South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa are meeting in Tanzania on Wednesday to try ease tensions and find a solution the crisis.<\/p>\n
{{Source: Bloomberg}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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