In the west of Burundi, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two persons were killed and another injured when gunmen ambushed their car, locals reported on Sunday.
According to them, the assault happened on Saturday night on the highway leading from the region of Bubanza to the commercial centre of Burundi, Bujumbura.
Sources told newsmen that they heard gunfire and grenade blasts coming from the attack location close to the border.
“A car from Gihanga to Bujumbura was burnt down, two people in the vehicle, a woman and a man, were killed…one man escaped but was injured by bullets,” one woman who lives close to the scene told newsmen.
The locals claimed they believed Red-Tabara, a rebel group that has been fighting Burundi’s government from strongholds in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was responsible for the attack, which occurred approximately 5 kilometers from the border.
Attackers, according to them, went back to the neighbouring Rukoko woodland, from which they could pass to get to their bases.
The Burundian government has already charged the group with carrying out many ambushes and attacks since 2015 on civilian and military targets. On Sunday, police declined to provide any comments.