Two people were killed on Saturday, June 18 in an armed attack suspected to have been carried out by the National Liberation Front (FLN) terror outfit in Kitabi sector, Nyamagabe district. According to a statement by the Rwanda National Police (RNP), the attack took place at 2pm when armed thugs suspected to be members of the FLN outfit operating across the border, shot at a public passenger bus on the Nyamagabe-Rusizi road. Previously, members of this group have attacked Rwanda coming either from Burundi or Democratic Republic of Congo. The assailants killed the bus driver and one passenger, and also injured six other passengers who were evacuated to Kigeme hospital and University Teaching Hospital in Butare (CHUB)for treatment, it added. The assailants are being tracked down, according to RNPs statement. The FLN is an anti-Rwanda militia group operating in the DRC. It was behind the 2018 and 2019 attacks in South-Western Rwanda, where at least nine unarmed civilians lost their lives, more others injured and property destroyed or looted. Last year, the High Court Chamber for International and Cross Border Crimes (HCCICC) convicted a number of its leaders and soldiers of terrorism crimes and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from 3 to 25 years. The convicts included Paul Rusesabagina, one of the outfits founders, main financer and political figurehead; and Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara who was its spokesperson. Rusesabagina was handed a 25 year jail term, while Nsabimana was handed 20 years. In the aftermath of the verdict, the prosecutors and some of the convicts took to the Court of Appeal to challenge the HCCICCs decision. After some weeks of hearing the appeal case, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling, where among others, it maintained Rusesabaginas 25 year jail term, but reduced that of Nsabimana to 15 years, owing to factors like his collaboration with the court during the trial process where he not. only. pleaded guilty but also provided key information that assisted the investigators and prosecutors in their work.
