Relations between Rwanda and its neighbor Burundi continue waning and yesterday Rwandan armed forces reportedly shot dead two Burundian food smugglers who were trying to cross the border between the two countries, Burundi police has said.
Pierre Nkurikiye, Burundi’s national police spokesperson, said Niyonkuru Fidèle, 25, and Nyabenda Jérémie, 23, were killed on the Rwandan side of the border near Ruhwa in Cibitoke province in the northwest of Burundi, as they tried to smuggle sacks of eggplants and tomatoes across the border into Rwanda.
According to Nkurikiye, the victims were neither armed nor dangerous. He added that the two men had been part of a group of nine persons encountered by Rwandan troops while trying to cross the border.
“Seven of them succeeded in getting away from the place before they were shot. They are now detained at the police jail in Cibitoke province for investigation reasons,” he said.
In July, this year, the Burundi government banned the export of all food commodities as well as public transport from Burundi to Rwanda.
The decision severely affected farmers of tomato and eggplants in Cibitoke province because they were selling much of their produce to Rwanda.
Rwandan authorities have not yet confirmed the incident.
Relations between Burundi and Rwanda have been deteriorating since last year especially from May when a group of Burundi army and police officers tried unsuccessfully to topple Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza’s regime.
Burundi accused Rwanda of backing the coup and later attempts to destabilise the government, and early this year, a former Rwandan Minister and diplomat Jacques Bihozagara, died in a Burundi prison under mysterious circumstances, after he was arrested and accused of spying for his home country.
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