Burundi Deploys Over 400 Imbonerakure to Reinforce Rwanda Rebel Group FLN
Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye has reportedly ordered that more than 400 Imbonerakure – members of the ruling CNDD-FDD youth militia – be deployed to bolster the National Liberation Front (FLN), a rebel group fighting against the Government of Rwanda.
According to credible regional intelligence reports, the recruits recently completed military training at the Makamba camp and were drawn from several areas of the former Cibitoke Province, including Kabarore, Bukinanyana, Mabayi, Mugina, and Rugombo.
The FLN, which operates in South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the Kibira Forest of Burundi, has long collaborated with Burundian and Congolese forces in fighting the Twirwaneho militia around Minembwe and Fizi territories.
Between 2018 and 2019, the group launched deadly cross-border attacks into southwestern Rwanda, killing and injuring civilians and destroying property, including vehicles. The assaults were staged from Kibira Forest, where FLN fighters have been harbored by Burundian authorities.
Recent intelligence suggests that over 200 Imbonerakure have already been dispatched to Kidote, in Lemera groupement, Uvira Territory, where they joined FLN forces led by Colonel Fabien Mukeshimana, also known as Kamayi. Another contingent of about 200 youth fighters was sent to Lubarika in Uvira to reinforce FLN units commanded by General Major Dieudonné Hategekimana, alias Théophile.
In August 2025, Burundian military intelligence officials reportedly held a meeting with Gen. Maj. Hategekimana, encouraging collaboration with both Burundian and Congolese forces in Uvira and areas near the Rwandan border. In exchange, the FLN was allegedly promised financial and logistical support from the Congolese government.
A Burundian military intelligence source said:
“Both President Ndayishimiye and his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza have long supported FDLR and FLN because they share the same anti-Tutsi ideology. The CNDD-FDD government continues to pursue ethnic-based politics, believing these groups can destabilize Rwanda’s FPR-led government.”
Burundian journalist Teddy Mazina echoed similar views in an August 2025 interview with The Long Form, stating that CNDD-FDD and FDLR are ideologically aligned. He said this explains Burundi’s hospitality toward the Rwandan rebel group, allowing its members to live, trade, and organize freely on Burundian soil.
Mazina recalled that during the 2015 coup attempt against Nkurunziza, FDLR fighters from the DRC rushed to Bujumbura to defend his government.
“We have FDLR in Bujumbura. When the coup failed, FDLR was there. The collaboration never stopped. Some FDLR members live in Burundi as civilians since 2010, running businesses. Money from Congo flows directly into Burundi,” he said.
Currently, an estimated 20,000 Burundian troops are stationed across South Kivu, particularly in Uvira Territory, where they reportedly coordinate military activities with FDLR and FLN commanders. The two groups are said to use Burundian territory as a logistical corridor for meetings and supplies.
