SUMMARY
Burundi became independent in 1962, following the colonial rule of Belgium. Since independence the country has witnessed power struggles founded in the ethnic tension between the to major ethnic groups in in the country the Tutsi and the Hutu. The civil war, which broke out in 1993, involved several Hutu militias contesting the Tutsi government of Burundi. Since 1946 the country has experienced the intrastate, non-state, and one-sided categories of UCDP organized violence.
2025
In 2025, the conflict over the government power in Burundi recorded one fatality, making the conflict inactive for the first time since 2017. Most notably, the fatalities in the conflict between Government of Burundi and RED-Tabara has decreased signficantly since 2022 and is now no longer active, as of 2025. Additionally, the Government of Burundi continued to engage in one-sided violence, deliberately targeting and killing civilians at rates similar to those recorded in previous years. Frequently, these attacks were carried out by the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party, CNDD-FDD.
Organized Violence in Burundi
In the 19th century, the territory that would become the states of Rwanda and Burundi fell under the colonial control, first by Germany and then by Belgium. The people inhabiting the area were linguistically and culturally homogeneous, but colonial authorities categorized them into three groups: the Hutu, the Tutsi, and the Twa. The Hutu and Tutsi were to some extent different in physical appearance, but the prevalent societal order was more one of social class than race, allowing Hutus to become Tutsis through social advancement. The German and – primarily – the Belgian colonialists capitalized on these existing societal divides, in essence exacerbating them through supporting centralized Tutsi rule as the means of colonial administration.
Just as in Rwanda, the Hutu in Burundi constituted the majority of the population (approximately 85–90%), while the Tutsi were a minority (about 10–14%). Unlike Rwanda, where Hutus seized power at independence, Burundi became a monarchy under the Tutsi King Mwami Mwambutsa IV. Political power was centered in the UPRONA (Union pour le Progrés National, Union for National Progress) party, closely linked to the monarchy and the Tutsi elite. In 1965, a Hutu-led military rebellion challenged the Tutsi predominance within the state apparatus in an intrastate conflict. The Hutu military rebellion that was quashed by the regime. Harsh retaliation from the army against the Hutu population and a cleansing of the military followed. In 1966 the monarchy was abolished by a coup, and a military regime was imposed by the Tutsi-dominated army.
Military regimes subsequently held power from 1966 to 1993, with dictators violently suppressing dissent, most notably in large-scale massacres of Hutu civilians throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The military regimes attempted to maintain the structure of power and privilege in Burundi. Through their reign, almost all positions of importance were held by the Tutsi minority. Also, to suppress ethnically based dissent, the Tutsi regimes denied the existence of separate ethnic groups in Burundi, making the entire subject taboo.
In 1990, Burundi embarked on a process of democratization. As political liberalization began, an intrastate conflict erupted, with Palipehutu (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu, Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People) challenging the government in 1991 and 1992. The democratization process culminated in elections in 1993, and Melchior Ndadaye – a Hutu – of FRODEBU (Front democratique de Burundi, Burundian Democratic Front) became president. Only months after his victory, he was killed by members of the Tutsi-dominated army, and violence quickly engulfed the country. Thousands of Tutsi were killed by FRODEBU activists, while the army retaliated with equal force against the Hutu. These attacks and the ethnic tension evolved into a communal conflict between the two groups as members of one ethnic group retaliated against members of the other all across the country. An UPRONA and FRODEBU power-sharing government failed to settle the crisis. In 1994 the conflict reignited, pitting the Tutsi-dominated government against a number of Hutu-based opposition groups, most notably CNDD (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie, National Council for the Defence of Democracy) and Palipehutu–FNL (Parti pour la liberation du peuple Hutu-Forces nationals de libération, Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People-Forces for National Liberation). In the context of this armed conflict, several groups, including the government, made use of one-sided violence. Some rebel groups at times also battled each other.
The conflict raged between 1994 and 2008 until the last remaining rebel faction (of any notable size) agreed to enter the peace process. Most rebel groups had entered into negotiations with the government by the early 2000s and signed on to the Arusha process, which stipulated wide-ranging reforms of the army and society and a return to democracy through elections. Elections in 2005 ushered in the CNDD-FDD’s leader Nkúrunziza as president of a government based on ethnic power-sharing. Efforts to reign in the last remnant Hutu rebels continued. After many unsuccessful negotiation attempts, a new peace agreement was signed with the last remaining group Palipehutu-FNL on 4 December 2008. Yet, following the peace agreement, political violence continued to be noticeable, especially in connections to elections.
After some years with a relative stability violence returned to Burundi again in 2015, when President Nkurunziza announced his controversial bid for a third term, violating the constitution. The announcement led to mass protests, a coup attempt, and the growth of a new rebellion involving FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa , FPB and RED-TABARA. These groups operated from bases in DR Congo (Zaire). In response, the Government of Burundi deployed troops and Imbonerakure militias across the border to combat FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa and RED-Tabara. The Government of Burundi and Imbonerakure also continued to engage in one-sided violence, deliberately targeting and killing civilians who supported the opposition groups in the country.
In 2020, Évariste Ndayishimiye, a close ally of Nkurunziza, won the presidential elections and assumed office following Nkurunziza's sudden death. Although his presidency initially signaled hopes for reform, both the armed conflict and one-sided violence have remained active.
