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Burundi has closed its borders with Rwanda after accusing its neighbour of funding rebel attacks.<\/p>\n
Last December Red Tabara, a Burundian rebel group, killed 20 people near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n
Rwandan President Paul Kagame denies the charge, but Burundi’s government has branded him a “bad neighbour”.<\/p>\n
“We have stopped ties with him until he changes,” said Burundi’s Interior Minister Martin Niteretse.<\/p>\n
Burundian President \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye made the accusation in December following the attack.<\/p>\n
The Rwandan government responded that it “regrets the unilateral closure of the border by Burundi”, according to AFP.<\/p>\n
It said the border closure was an “unfortunate decision” which violated the principles of regional cooperation and the integration of the East Africa Community.<\/p>\n
Red Tabara admitted to carrying out the December attack, but said they had only killed nine soldiers and one police officer.<\/p>\n
The group operates from DR Congo’s South Kivu province bordering Burundi.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear whether the border closure included both land and air.<\/p>\n
In 2015 Burundi closed its border to Rwanda due to political tensions and then because of Covid-19. Seven years later the borders reopened.<\/p>\n
During that time only land crossings were permitted. But the airline carrier RwandAir never stopped its commercial flights to Burundi.<\/p>\n
Relations between Rwanda and Burundi have been tenuous despite their having a similar language, ethnic composition and colonial history.<\/p>\n
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