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A rebel group claimed responsibility for a series of overnight mortar attacks on the airport in Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi, a day before President Evariste Ndayishimiye flew to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The attacks, which caused no casualties or caused damage, were heard all the way to the city center on Saturday evening.
“We fired several shells at Bujumbura international airport,” RED-Tabara rebels said overnight on Twitter.
“We also had at least an hour-long firefight with the military in one of the positions protecting the airport.”
An airport official, who declined to be named, told AFP he heard “shell explosions and automatic weapon fire” at night.
“We were very scared, but it didn’t last long,” he said.
“There is no damage, a Kenya Airways plane even landed this morning without any problem.”
A second airport source, who also declined to give his name, said “at least three” mortar shells hit the airport but caused very little damage.
A diplomatic source, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the attack but said it did not disrupt air traffic on Sunday.
Meanwhile, a senior military official who also wished to remain anonymous said none of the mortar shells reached the airport.
“It is a publicity stunt from RED-Tabara on the eve of the departure of His Excellency the President for the United States, to make the whole world talk about them,” he said.
The presidency confirmed Ndayishimiye’s trip on Sunday, but did not mention the incident.
Witnesses told AFP that military patrols had been stepped up in areas near the airport.
RED-Tabara, which has its rear base in South Kivu in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, emerged 10 years ago and is today the most active of the Burundian rebel groups.
He is accused of being behind many deadly attacks or ambushes across the country since 2015.
In 2020, he claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in which more than 40 people were killed among the security forces and the youth league of the ruling CNDD-FDD party.
The Burundian government and many diplomats believed at the time that this rebel group, which numbers between 500 and 800 men, was led by one of the fiercest opponents of the Burundian regime, Alexis Sinduhije, which he has always denied.
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