This dyad belongs to the conflict Burundi: Government
Summary of conflict Burundi: Government
In Burundi, the uneven distribution of power between the Tutsi minority and Hutu majority has led to an armed conflict over government. In 1965, a coup attempt was swiftly quelled but led to violence targeting the Hutu population. In the 1990s, a number of Hutu rebel groups tried to oust the Tutsi-led government. In August 2000, negotiations came to an end with the conclusion of the Arusha agreement. Two Hutu parties remained outside of the agreement, and they continued to fight the government. CNDD-FDD (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy) concluded a separate agreement in 2002 and won the elections in 2005 and 2010. Palipehutu-FNL (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu - Forces nationales de liberation, Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People- Forces for the National Liberation) continued to fight until 2008, when a final peace agreement was reached.
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in the conflict between Government of Burundi and RED-Tabara has decreased signficantly since 2022 and is now no longer active, as of 2025.
Background and the coup-attempt in October 1965
The population in Burundi is made up of Hutus (around 85%) and Tutsis (roughly 15%). At the time of its independence in 1962, Burundi had a monarchical political system with a dominant political party, the UPRONA (the National and Union Progress Party). The Tutsi minority controlled all important societal powers in the country.
Hutu uprisings and subsequent brutal repression by the Tutsi army have taken place on a number of occasions in the country. After elections in 1965, a coup attempt by a Hutu military rebellion failed. The army answered by targeting 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 Hutus throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The military regimes attempted to maintain the structure of power and privilege in Burundi. Throughout 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 1972, the armed repression was on the verge of genocide, and many Hutu survivors sought refuge in Rwanda and Tanzania. In 1987, President Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, came to power in a bloodless coup, and the following year anti-Hutu pogroms took place once again. The Hutus had been radicalized by their experiences, and extremism had flourished in the refugee camps.
The Hutu refugees organizing an opposition (1990-1995)
In 1980, Palipehutu (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu, Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People) was established clandestinely in Tanzanian refugee camps. The group advocated armed struggle to fight Tutsi domination and to seek to advance the interests of the Hutu ethnic group. Its armed wing, Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL), was set up in 1985, but the armed struggle was not properly launched until 1991. In the early stages, the armed struggle mainly consisted of cross-border attacks from Tanzania. Following splits within the group, they managed to retain a small fighting force of its own, but its impact on the conflict had been insignificant. Frolina (Front pour la libération nationale), was the first movement to break away from Palipehutu in 1990. In August 1990 Frolina made its presence known when a cross-border attack from Tanzania was launched. The rebel group had an armed wing, FAP (Forces Armées Populaires), which only had limited influence, as it was small in size and largely inactive. Reflecting this, it took until 1997 before any large-scale FAP attacks were carried out.
A group which was also created by breaking away from Palipehutu, but that, unlike Frolina, has played a significant role in the armed struggle, was Palipehutu-FNL (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu - Forces nationales de liberation, Party for the Liberation of the Hutu](People- Forces for the National Liberation). The launching of Palipehutu's armed struggle in 1991 was marred with difficulties and mistakes. Many of its soldiers were killed, and when the survivors returned to the Tanzanian headquarter, a conflict erupted between the armed and the political wings. Subsequently, on 31 December 1991, FNL left the movement, and Palipehutu-FNL was created under the leadership of Cossan Kabura. The new movement remained a minor force through its first years, but in 1996 its troops were beginning to make their presence known. Palipehutu-FNL was mainly active in the areas around Bujumbura and in the north-west.
In 1991 President Pierre Buyoya led the country. As a relatively moderate Tutsi, he had indicated his willingness to include Hutus in the political elite from the early years of his rule. However, he was forced to balance this approach carefully since the powerful Tutsi-dominated army has always remained committed to protecting the interests of the Tutsi minority. Buyoya managed to stay in power despite a number of coup attempts, and in late 1992, the political landscape of Burundi was dramatically altered as multipartyism was introduced. Subsequently, during the only years in the 1990s that the conflict was inactive, 1993 until late 1994, attempts at democratically governing the country were made. However, in late 1993, Burundi's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu, was assassinated together with a number of his ministers.
A new Hutu rebel formation CNDD (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie, National Council for the Defence of Democracy) was set up in the aftermath of the 1993 assassination of Hutu president Melchior Ndadaye. Many of its founding members had previously belonged to the Hutu political party Frodebu but could not tolerate the concessions made to Tutsi parties after the crisis. Thus, CNDD was launched in view to re-establish the institutions of 1993. Through its armed wing, FDD (Forces pour la défense de la démocratie); it initiated its armed struggle in late 1994, bolstered by the arrival of new recruits from Rwanda, fleeing after the Tutsi victory in the neighboring country (see Rwanda conflict description). After the assassination of Ndadaye, extremism increased, and turbulence ensued in the country. The conflict restarted.
Regional war (1996-1999)
In July 1996, Buyoya retook power in a coup and ruled in conjunction with the powerful Tutsi military establishment. For three years, all political parties were banned. However, from 1998 onward, Buyoya's position softened, and some Hutus were included in the government. In 1998, CNDD’s armed wing FDD, under Commander-in-Chief Jean-Bosco Ndayiekengurukiye, broke away from the political wing and established CNDD-FDD (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy). The new movement immediately launched its armed struggle.
Initially, the conflict in Burundi was a purely internal affair. However, this changed drastically in the mid-1990s, when the country was drawn into the conflict in neighboring Zaire/DR Congo. Numerous outside parties actively participated in the conflict since the mid-1990s. However, it needs to be stressed that these alliances were almost exclusively tactical in character. The government had since 1996 cooperated militarily with the Rwandan armed forces, both in DR Congo and along the common border. Together these two armies fought both Burundian and Rwandan rebel forces. Rwandan troops had also been active within Burundi, mainly due to the infiltration of Rwandan rebels into the country. The forces of the government of Burundi also cooperated with Ugandan troops, and it is an open secret that it retained strong links with the DR Congo rebel movement RCD. On the rebel side, CNDD-FDD and to some extent also Palipehutu-FNL fought alongside the DR Congo army, inside DR Congo, against the Burundian armed forces and RCD. Both groups have also carried out joint operations with Rwandan rebel groups AliR and FDLR as well as with the Mayi-Mayi militia in DR Congo(Zaire).
Apart from active military involvement, other types of support had also been readily forthcoming. France and the USA provided military equipment to Burundi's government at the earlier stage of the conflict. After 1998, the DR Congo government provided primarily CNDD-FDD with ammunition, arms, funding, and, above all, a safe haven in eastern DR Congo, from where it launched attacks into Burundi. It was the assistance from Kabila that made this movement the most significant rebel group in the Burundian conflict. There were also persistent reports of Zimbabwe, allied with Kabila in the DR Congo conflict, supplying CNDD-FDD with weapons.
The Burundian conflict was characterized by a large amount of inter-group killings, with victims often being civilians. Massacres of both Hutu and Tutsi civilians took place on a number of occasions, performed by both the government forces and the Hutu rebel groups. When it comes to the fighting between the armed rebels and the government army, most Hutu rebel groups utilized guerrilla strategies, fighting the government from rear bases in neighboring DR Congo(Zaire) and Tanzania. They regularly attacked the military and managed to disrupt the economy dramatically.
Not all rebel groups utilized bases in neighboring countries, though. Palipehutu-FNL operated mainly within Burundi, where it limited sanctuaries but was able to put up constant pressure on primarily the population of the capital. Palipehutu-FNL had strong support from Hutu refugees in camps in Tanzania. After 2001, the use of foreign bases became increasingly uncommon even for the groups that previously utilized them. This was largely due to the fact that the conflict in [DR Congo(Zaire))(/#/country/490) was coming to an end. Subsequently, thousands of rebel fighters previously based in eastern DR Congo(Zaire) filtered back into Burundi, along with numerous Rwandan rebels, thus expanding the domestic areas affected by the fighting.
At least during the early years of the conflict, the Hutu rebels had the invaluable support of the civilian rural Hutu population, which made it possible for them to move across the country without being discovered. To break the rebels' contact with the rural Hutu population, the government in the mid-1990s initiated a strategy of forcible regroupment. Huge camps were set up where the Hutus were taken and forced to live. At one point 300 000 civilian Hutus were gathered in these camps, living under terrible conditions. Due to increasing international attention, the government was forced to start closing the camps down in 1999.
The Arusha process (1999-2000)
Before the military coup in 1996, which reinstalled Buyoya as president, no negotiations were held. In 1996, multiparty talks were, however, initiated with former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere as mediator. It is unclear exactly what parties were present in the early years of the peace talks. For a long time, the government objected to the participation of the active rebel movements, who, for their parts, set up preconditions for taking part in negotiations.
In late 1999, Nelson Mandela took over the role of mediator. For the first time, the active rebel groups were invited to participate in negotiations. Initially, the rebel leaders told Mandela that they would join the Arusha talks but eventually refused to do so. However, Mandela conducted separate talks with the leadership of CNDD-FDD and Palipehutu-FNL. Meanwhile, negotiations proceeded with the government, 13 political parties and three former active warring parties: Palipehutu, Frolina and CNDD. On 28 August 2000, the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was signed. It provided for army reform and democratic transition. However, the CNDD-FDD and Palipehutu-FNL did not sign the accord.
Continued fighting and continued negotiations (1999-2009)
CNDD-FDD and Palipehutu-FNL remained outside of the Arusha agreement and continued to fight the government. In 2001 a transitional government was installed with cabinet posts split between Hutus and Tutsis. The government was initially led by a Tutsi president (Pierre Buyoya) and a Hutu vice-president (Domitien Ndayizézé), but in April 2003, Buyoya handed over power to Ndayizézé.
In 2002 one year after the inauguration of the transitional government provided for in Arusha, attempts at including CNDD-FDD and Palipehutu-FNL in the peace process continued. This was rendered more difficult by splits in the movements. However, the two smaller factions of CNDD-FDD and Palipehutu-FNL eventually signed ceasefire agreements in October 2002.
The largest part of CNDD-FDD continued to fight under the leadership of Pierre Nkurunziz, and the main faction of Palipehutu-FNL led by Agathon Rwasa continued the armed struggle.
Following strong pressure put on the parties by the mediation team, the main faction of CNDD-FDD agreed to a ceasefire on 3 December 2002. In 2003, negotiations continued amidst persistent violence. After a rough start, talks between Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD faction and the government eventually got back on track. During the year, four partial agreements were signed, resulting in the concluding of the comprehensive accord "The Global ceasefire agreement between the Transitional Government and the Forces pour la Défence de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD) of Mr. Nkúrunziza." The agreement endorsed power-sharing and provided for the implementation of the 2000 Arusha Agreement, previously rejected by CNDD-FDD. The two signing parties also agreed to attempt to persuade the Palipehutu-FNL Rwasa faction to join the peace process.
In January 2004, the first face-to-face negotiations between the government and Palipehutu-FNL Rwasa took place in the Netherlands. They, however, soon broke down, and after a massacre of Tutsi refugees - the Gatumba massacre perpetrated by Palipehutu-FNL Rwasa, a peaceful solution to the conflict seemed elusive. On 15 May 2005, the government and Palipehutu-FNL agreed to a ceasefire, but it was soon broken by both parties.
During the summer, 2005 elections were held in Burundi, and they were won by CNDD-FDD. Nkurunziza, the leader of CNDD-FDD, was sworn in as President on 26 August 2005. Palipehutu-FNL got a new negotiating partner. After many failed negotiation efforts, a peace agreement was signed on 7 September 2006. The peace agreement stipulated the demobilization of Palipehutu-FNL forces and the transformation of the organization into a political party. The peace agreement of September 2006 terminated the conflict. The international community, however, voiced alarm over an increase of state repression in Burundi, characterized by arrests of politicians and tightening media censorship, and stated that this might lead to a deteriorating political situation.
In 2007 Palipehutu-FNL left the joint verification monitoring mechanism (JVMM) provided for in the agreement, and even though clashes between the groups had ended, the situation remained tense. Attempts to restart the negotiations deadlocked in early 2008, and small-scale clashes resumed, culminating in a rebel offensive in Bujumbura and other areas in April that year in an apparent attempt to strengthen the rebels’ bargaining position ahead of renewed negotiations. However, after suffering losses on the battlefield and at the same time being expelled from Tanzania, which had long harbored the Palipehutu-FNL leadership, the rebels returned to the negotiating table. On 26 May 2008, a ceasefire agreement was signed, reaffirming the parties' commitment to the 2006 agreement. On 4 December, a new peace agreement was signed, removing the last obstacle for the transformation of Palipehutu-FNL into a political party.
As a first step to implement the new agreement Palipehutu-FNL was renamed FNL on 8 January 2009. Palipehutu means "party for the liberation of ethnic Hutus" and ethnic parties were illegal in Burundi. At the same time, the group renounced violence and transformed into a political party.
Peace but continued violence (2009-2014)
After the Final Peace Agreement in 2008, the armed conflict in Burundi remained inactive. FNL was transformed into a political party, and on 18 April 2009, Rwasa officially demobilized to mark the beginning of the demobilization of FNL’s 3500 troops. On 21 April, FNL officially became a political party. Agathon Rwasa was going to run in the 2010 elections for the presidency but decided to withdraw from the elections together with the other opposition when they felt the district election in May was rigged. In the district elections, however, CNDD-FDD party won 64 percent of the vote, FNL obtained 14 percent of the vote, while UPRONA finished third with 6 percent. In June 2010, presidential elections were held. Since the opposition parties boycotted presidential elections, President Nkurunziza was the only candidate. Just before the elections, the FNL) leader Agathon Rwasa fled to South Kivu. A few days later, he stated that he fled for his life and was not preparing for a new war. In August, the political FNL ousted Rwasa from the leadership of the group in a congress. Emmanuel Miburo was elected as the party's "new chairman." As a response, Agathon Rwasa “totally renounced the war” in a statement sent to the local media in Burundi on 2 December 2010. This new war would be "a holy war" and "transcend ethnicity." The new Rwasa faction of FNL allied themselves with FDLR and Mai Mai Yakutumba in DR Congo.
The remaining FNL rebels continued to splinter themselves into numerous factions. In 2012, for example, the groups Murundi Peoples Front-The Saviours (FPM-Abatabazi) and FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa appeared and clashed with the government. In January 2013, Rwasa was ousted from the leadership over his own faction by Isidore Nibizi (as president of the group) and Aloys Nzabampema (as chief of staff). Rwasa returned to Burundi in an effort to join the political scene before the elections in 2015. After the protests in 2015 a large number of small rebel groups popped up in Burundi, most of them united under the opposition umbrella CNARED (Conseil National pour le respect de l'Accord d'Arusha pour la Paix et la Réconciliation au Burundi et de l'Etat de droit)
Even though the period 2009-2013 was relatively calm in Burundi, numerous reports implied the return to violence between government forces and members of FNL in the period. On several occasions, armed men attacked members or former members of FNL as well as their close relatives. Although the government blamed these attacks on armed bandits, witnesses claimed that the attacks were committed by members of the country’s security service or the ruling party's youth wing. In the days following an attack, governmental representatives and members of the ruling party were killed by unidentified perpetrators. Therefore, it is likely that the government of Burundi and members of FNL engaged in a spiral of retaliation attacks. One of the worst incidents was reported in 2011 in an attack on a bar located in the Gatumba area. The incident claimed the lives of at least 39 people, and witnesses blamed the attack on rebel fighters. However, all events are tainted with uncertainty regarding the true identity of the perpetrators. Consequently, these events have not been counted in UCDP data. Incursions over the border with DR Congo(Zaire) also continued in the period for example: In 2014, an FNL faction called FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa claimed responsibility for a number of incursions into Burundi but also to clashes with the Burundi army on the Congolese side of the border. On 30 December, other assailants later known as RED-Tabara crossed the border from the DR Congo(Zaire) via Murwi and Bukinanyana on Burundi’s side, aiming to enter the Kibira natural forest, on the way they clashed with the army.
On 31 December 2014, the UN mission BNUB ended. The mission had been in place since 2011 when it replaced BINUB.
Protests, coup d'état and the emergence of new rebel groups (2015)
In 2015 violent protests spread across the country as the ruling President Pierre Nkurunziza sought to run for President for a third term. The protesters claimed that Nkurunziza could not run for a third time in office according to the constitution, while Nkurunziza claimed that he could. According to the constitution Article 96: “The President of the Republic is elected by universal direct suffrage for a mandate of five years renewable one time.” According to the opposition, Nkurunziza had already done two terms as a president, but according to Nkurunziza, his first 5 years in office should not count since he had been elected by the parliament and not by popular vote. On 13 May 2015, while President Nkurunziza was out of the country, Major General Godefroid Niyombare declared a coup d'état. The Military faction (forces of Godefroid Niyombare) managed to take control over the radio broadcast headquarters and announced, "Nkurunziza is dismissed, his government is dismissed too." They also managed to take control of the airport, but the coup attempt was soon defeated. After the coup, low-level unrest continued in Burundi. On 21 July, elections were held without the participation of the opposition, and on 20 August 2015, Nkurunziza was sworn in for his third term. On 11 December 2015, three military barracks were attacked by a group calling itself the Republican Forces of Burundi (FOREBU) with the aim of forcing Nkurunziza out of power. Despite the open conflict, Nkurunziza refused to let peacekeepers from the African Union into the country.
Cross-border attacks (2016-)
Although violence, attacks, and clashes were continually reported after 2015, most of the deaths could not be attributed to the different actors forming both within the government but also among those opposing Nkurunziza's third term. Imbonerakure, the youth militia of the government party, targeted opponents of the government and even clashed with the rebel factions living in DR Congo(Zaire): RED-Tabara, FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa of Aloys Nzabampema, FNL Nibizi and FPB. These groups, in turn, stepped up their cross-border attacks into Burundi. The government of Burundi and its youth militia Imbonerakure entered Congolese territory and attacked positions held by the rebel groups. They also formed alliances with small Mayi Mayi militias in the Sud Kivu Province of DR Congo (Zaire) that clashed with Burundian rebel groups and their Congolese allies. In September 2019 Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda concluded a joint agreement by the heads of regional forces and Africom to target rebels and terrorist designated groups in the eastern DR Congo. After this event DR Congo and Rwanda were seen as a secondary warring parties to Burundi in this conflict.
On 18 June 2020, Évariste Ndayishimiye became the new President of Burundi. He won the elections of 2020 but had to take office two months in advance after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza on 8 June 2020. Ndayishimiye had been a close ally of Nkurunziza.
The conflict over the government power in Burundi remained active in 2021, with RED-Tabara challenging the Government of Burundi. Significant clashes between the government forces and RED-Tabara were recorded in Muramvya and Bujumbura Rural provinces of Burundi. The ruling CNDD-FDD party's youth militia Imbonerakure participated in the armed clashes on the government side. In 2022, the conflict continued, with FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa and RED-Tabara challenging the Government of Burundi. The two groups have been based in DR Congo since their inception and the government of Burundi and Imbonerakure have regularly crossed the border to fight them. After a regional agreement among the East African community (EAC) Burundi officially deployed troops in the country and fought FNL-Ubugabo-Burihabwa and RED-Tabara in joint offensives with the DR Congo government. In 2024, the conflict was active both in the territory of DR Congo (Zaire) and in north-western Burundi. It also became increasingly intertwined with the other conflicts in the Great Lakes region. The clashes involved the Government of Burundi supported by Imbonerakure militias and RED-Tabara. As of 2025, the conflict is no longer active.
