SUMMARY
Frolina (Front pour la libération nationale: National Liberation Front) was a Burundian Hutu armed group that formed within the context of a Tutsi-dominated society where almost all positions of importance were held by the Tutsi minority. From 1966, Tutsi-dominated military regimes had maintained power in Burundi through dictators violently suppressing dissent, most notably in large-scale massacres of Hutus throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, Frolina emerged seeking to overthrow the Tutsi-dominated Government of Burundi and establish proportional distribution of political and administrative power between Hutu and Tutsis in Burundi. It formed as a splinter group from Palipehutu and carried out its first attack in August 1990. Although it is suspected that Frolina may have emerged sometime earlier during the 1980s, a more specific date has not been confirmed.
Frolina was based in Tanzania and its political wing was called Umbumwé, meaning solidarity. Supporters were recruited from refugee camps and border settlements in Tanzania, which were filled with Hutus who had fled Burundi after there was an exodus of Hutu politicians in the wake of massive government repression and massacres in 1972. Given the environment in Burundi, Frolina was one of several Burundian Hutu armed groups that fought in opposition to the Government of Burundi. Therefore, ethnic Hutus often chose to support one group over another based upon their family and geographic affiliations; accordingly, support for Frolina came largely from the central Muramvya region and the plains around Lake Tanganyika.
The armed wing of Frolina was the Forces Armées Populaires (FAP). This military component only had limited influence as it was small in size and largely inactive. Reflecting this, although the group began to carry out armed attacks in 1990, it took until 1997 before any large-scale FAP attacks were carried out. Most attacks were low-level, cross-border operations launched from the bush.
Between 1995 and 2000, multiple organized, Hutu armed groups existed in Burundi and perpetrated violence against civilians. This being the case, it was not possible to establish which of these groups were responsible for each attack. Therefore, all violence perpetrated by Hutu armed groups against civilians during this time period was recorded under Hutu rebels – Civilians. Along with Frolina, other groups that are included under the Hutu rebels umbrella term for this period of civilian targeting include Palipehutu-FNL and CNDD-FDD.
After Frolina signed the Arusha Peace Accord with the Government of Burundi, it transitioned into a political party. Under the terms of the Arusha Peace Accord, Frolina fighters were integrated into the military forces of the Government of Burundi after 2000.
Former Palipehutu member, Joseph Karumba, was the leader of Frolina. Although Karumba was arrested by Tanzanian authorities four days after Frolina carried out its first attack, he later attained asylum in Tanzania and subsequently managed Frolina from there.
