Gunmen kill 20 people in Burundi

Gunmen killed at least 20 people and wounded nine others near Burundi’s western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the government told reporters Saturday, in an attack claimed by the Reb Tabara rebel group.

Those killed in the Friday night raid on a village called Vugizo included 12 children, two pregnant women and a police officer, government spokesperson Jerome Niyonzima said.

Red Tabara, which has been battling Burundi’s government from bases in eastern Congo since 2015, claimed on the social media platform X to have killed nine soldiers and one police officer.

Local residents said they heard sounds of gunfire and explosions during the attack. Red Tabara previously said it had attacked and destroyed equipment at the country’s international airport in Bujumbura in September, although no casualties were reported.