Burundi re-opens borders with all neighbors including Rwanda

Burundi has reopened borders with its neighbors including Rwanda with whom it has had sour relations since 2015 over accusations that Kigali provides safe haven for former and late leader Pierre Nkurunziza.

“All the borders of Burundi with its neighboring countries are open. Burundi is a country where everyone can enter and leave freely,” the ministry of Interior announced Saturday.

The statement did not name the countries but the landlocked country has border with Rwanda (North), (East and South-East).

Until the statement, the country has had only its borders with Rwanda closed, since 2015, the time of late Nkurunziza.

The former leader closed the border with Rwanda in 2015 in the wake of disputed elections that maintained him in power. The elections were rejected by the opposition. A coup to ouster Nkurunziza failed in May that year.

Bujumbura accused Kigali of providing protection to its foes while President Paul Kagame’s regime also blamed Burundi authorities for collaborating with The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, accused of perpetrating the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The re-opening of the border with Rwanda comes seven months after Kigali also ordered its borders with Burundi to be re-opened. Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current Burundi leader, in power since 2020, has been working to ease ties with Rwanda.