Burundi declares border with Rwanda open again after years

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Burundi’s foreign affairs minister has officially declared that the border between the East African country and Rwanda has been reopened. The border between Burundi and Rwanda had been closed for almost six years, first amid political tensions and then by the COVID-19 pandemic. Albert Shingiro on Tuesday in a press conference indicated that Burundi maintains its position of calling on Rwanda to return coup-plotters it alleges fled there after trying to overthrow former President Pierre Nkurunziza in 2015. Rwanda for its part reopened its border with Burundi several months ago.