The umpteenth massacre of civilians was perpetrated in the parish of Buhoro, diocese of Gitega, during the last few days. Estimations of fatalities range from 182 to 1250, the majority of them women and children unable to escape. The army has admitted its responsibility and justifies action by claiming that the victims were either accomplices of the rebels, or were caught in the cross-fire. Witnesses, instead, are speaking of a planned attack of revenge or intimidation to ensure that people do not back the armed rebellion.
am shocked by the silence surrounding the massacre in the Itaba Hills”. This was the comment made by the Apostolic Nuncio in Bujumbura (Burundi), Monsignor Michael Aidan Courtney, regarding the episode that occurred September 9 in the Itaba Hills – south-east of the Gitega province, central Burundi – where numerous civilians, for the most part women and children, were brutally killed.
The responsibility of the military in the episode is undeniable, as also the fact that the action against the civilians that remained on those hills occurred after the rebels had already withdrawn from the zone.
“I am shocked at the international silence, even though the European Union is closely following the case, but what is even more surprising is the silence inside the nation”, continued the prelate. “The massacre took place September 9 and the first public report regarding what occurred was issued by authorities nine days later. An unexplainable silence given that normally the military and government are very hasty in referring tolls of rebel actions, issuing every night war bulletins from one or other zones of the nation”, concluded the Nuncio.
While the international press appears to have ignored the Itaba massacre, it is still at the center of a strong debate inside the nation. In a statement last night the government rejected the words of military spokesman Colonel Augustin Nzabampema, reported by various press agencies regarding the admission of a military involvement in the death of the civilians.
In the same note, the information ministry placed the toll of the fighting between government troops and rebels of the FDD (Forces for the Defence of Democracy) at 173, significantly lower in respect to witness accounts received by MISNA. A reliable source close to political circles in the past days gave our agency a list of phone numbers in Burundi. Our calls were responded by people that claimed to be friends of survivors or relatives of victims, who for obvious reasons requested anonymity.
Their accounts concorded on various elements, which on the whole paint a completely different picture than that provided by the government. A picture often confirmed also by key Burundian political and civil representatives. Based on all the testimonies, the responsibility of the military in the episode is undeniable, as also the fact that the action against the civilians that remained on those hills occurred after the rebels had already withdrawn from the zone. The question however remains on how many civilians were assassinated on those hills. Numerous testimonies concord with the death toll of at least 1,200 civilians. A far cry from the government estimate of 173.
But there is also contrast on the modalities of the tragedy. The victims were for the most part apparently killed in cold blood by the soldiers, who supposedly struck out in retaliation for the heavy losses they suffered at the hands of the FDD rebels in the violent fighting that took place in the days preceding the massacre.
(From MISNA)