The Burundian government had accused Rwanda of holding the refugees hostage and preventing their repatriation in July and August.

[3] The attack began on August 23, when RED-Tabara militants emerged from the forest around Bugarama and kidnapped eleven people.

[4] The commander of the militants later stated that they infiltrated Burundi from the DRC's South Kivu province through Lake Tanganyika.

[5] The eleven hostages were summarily executed, and then clashes broke out between the militants and the Burundian Army in the city.

[2] In the statement, RED-Tabara claimed that Hutu rebel group FDLR had infiltrated Burundian forces.