Dominante vindicative dans l'adhésion à la lutte armée au Burundi

Abstract

This article analyses the reasons (ex-) combattants in the armed conflict in Burundi give as to why they joined the conflict in a country prone to political-ethnic cyclical conflicts which degenerated into civil war. Based on analysis of the narratives of (ex-) combattants, in which feelings of revenge kept on occurring, it supports the idea that vengeance underpins or underlies different reasons for joining the armed conflict. Inherent in the violence of the Burundian socio-political context, vengeance underpins ideological and political motives for joining rebel groups, underlies professional and security force membership of both the regular army and the armed struggle, an armed struggle which forms a springboard for counting up both within families and between individuals.