SUMMARY

In the conflict against the Tutsi-dominated government of Burundi, in which the group took part as a separate outfit from 1999, the CNDD–FDD did not only fight government forces but also made use of one-sided violence. One-sided violence committed by the CNDD–FDD appears to have had several motives, some being of the more strategic kind and others being more based on individual and smaller-group interest.

Since the CNDD–FDD is a predominantly Hutu rebel group fighting a predominantly Tutsi establishment the bulk of the one-sided violence perpetrated by the group has been aimed towards Tutsi civilians. Hutus have however also been targeted, specifically those who have allegedly collaborated with the government.

In the strategic sphere the CNDD–FDD primarily made use of the relatively commonplace strategy of killing civilians for their perceived ‘disloyalty’, i.e. the belief that civilians in a specific area had supported the government’s agenda or forces. Such victims are predominantly Tutsi but also include Hutus. The group also carried out killings with the stated goal of showing that the government could not protect its citizens, in other words attempting to undermine the government’s authority. Attempts to, through violence against civilians, destabilize Burundi appears to have been one of the chief collective reasons for the CNDD–FDDs one-sided violence. Ambushes on roads, sometimes aimed at buses and transports, appear to have had a dual destabilization motive, where one was to disrupt security in general and the other was to disrupt economic activity.

Also in the strategic sphere, violence carried out by the CNDD–FDD, both in Burundi and in the DR. Congo (Zaire), where it had some bases of operation) was often related to looting and pillaging. The appropriation of food and other resources by the group appears to have been related both to the general need to feed and equip soldiers and to personal gain for individual soldiers and/or commanders. Such operations also included sexual violence and rape, beatings and mutilations, and the razing of villages. The CNDD–FDD was also known to have abducted civilians for ransom, to use as porters or for forced recruitment into their fighting force.

Another motive for violence appears to have been the wish to deter the return of refugees through instilling a sense of fear and insecurity. Such attacks should be seen as being part of the political agenda, i.e. denying the Burundian government a situation of normality.

CNDD–FDD troops were not heavily armed when conducting one-sided violence, primarily making use of light arms and machetes. Geographically the violence was concentrated to Burundi, but some events have also been recorded in the DR. Congo (Zaire).

CNDD–FDD first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2001, when the one-sided violence resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in October that year, when CNDD–FDD fighters ambushed a bus and killed 5 civilians. CNDD–FDD fighters had however committed one-sided violence before this year, but then as part of the more general Hutu rebels – civilians dyad.