DRC reopens Burundi border
2004-08-28 18:58
Bujumbura - The Democratic Republic of Congo reopened its border with Burundi on Saturday, two days after a similar move by Bujumbura, officials said.
"The DRC reopened its border with Burundi today (Saturday), traffic is back to normal between the two countries," the head of Burundi border police, Donatien Bacamurwanko, told AFP.
The move was confirmed by local officials and travellers in Gatumba, the main border post.
Burundi had closed its border with the DRC on August 15, two days after the massacre of 160 Congolese Tutsis in a refugee camp on the Burundian side of the frontier.
Bujumbura reopened the frontier on Thursday, citing a "sharp decrease in tension between the two countries and also for economic reasons," according to Burundian government spokesperson Onesime Nduwimana.
The border had remained closed on the Congolese side even though the DRC never announced its closure, according to several sources.