Gashora, Rwanda--Rwanda, where a Tutsi-led government has been in power since the 1994 genocide by extremist Hutu killers, has signalled its concern at the arrival of so many refugees.
"While we respect Burundi's sovereignty in addressing internal matters, Rwanda considers the safety of innocent populations as a regional and international responsibility," Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said last week.
Burundi has rejected Rwandan concerns that some of the violence was linked to Rwandan ethnic Hutu rebels of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) -- a group Kigali has previously sent troops into DR Congo to target.
Refugees in Rwanda are made up of both Hutus and Tutsis.
Ahishakiye, the mechanic who fled home, said he was Hutu and a member of the Tutsi-dominated UPRONA opposition party so for him, the threats were about politics, not ethnicity.
"We are mixed here. I cannot distinguish who is Hutu or Tutsi, we are the opposition," he said. "Even within political parties we are mixed."
Ahishakiye said he chose Rwanda because it was the closest safe place he could find.
"In this camp there are Tutsi, but all ethnic groups are represented," said Jacqueline Nibony, 50, sitting on a mat in front of a plastic shelter, cradling her four-year old daughter whose body was wracked by coughing fits.
"I heard on the radio that there would be war in Burundi," Nibony added, surrounded by a dozen women who nodded in agreement. "Whoever is afraid, fled the country."
"It is clear Nkurunziza will not give up his third mandate," said Ndagijimana Diomedes, a 38-year old supporter of Agathon Rwasa, another former Hutu rebel leader and Nkurunziza's main challenger.
"But the demonstrators will not give up," said Diomedes who fears a return to the ethnic violence that sparked the civil war leading to the deaths of 300,000 people.
Diomedes fled Burundi after post-election violence in the last polls in 2010, running that time to Tanzania and returning six months later.
"Now war comes again, and I am forced to flee again," he said.
AFP
