The Republic of Martyazo (french: République de Martyazo) was a short-lived

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

ist state proclaimed by

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...

rebels at

Vyanda Vyanda is a town and seat of the Commune of Vyanda in Bururi Province in southern Burundi. It has a population of 29,685 and by road it is located 34.9 kilometres southeast of Bururi and 13.2 kilometres northeast of Kigwena. Overview On 29 April ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

at the province of Makamba in the early May 1972 during the genocidal violence of 1972 as a bid to create a political base. At first, the state was located inside the mountainous Vugizo commune, between Makamba and

Nyanza Lac Nyanza Lac is a city in southern Burundi, in Makamba Province. The city is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, to the south of Mutambara and close to the border with Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanz ...

. However, it quickly expanded to its surroundings, even reaching the border with

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. A few days after the republic was declared, forces of the

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...

-dominated government of

Michel Micombero Michel Micombero (26 August 194016 July 1983) was a Burundian politician and army officer who ruled the country as ''de facto'' military dictator for the decade between 1966 and 1976. He was the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Burundi fro ...

occupied the region, ending the rebellion and the existence of Martyazo. The number of people to have perished in the rebellion is believed to have ranged between 800 and 1200. Because of the nature of the government and the rebellion, many killed were

hostages held in plantations in the area tried by the self-proclaimed "people's courts" established in the secessionist state. Academics have dubbed the state "mysterious"René Lemarchand, ''The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa'', p. 136 and "ephemeral"Jean-Pierre Chrétien & Jean-François Dupaquier, ''Burundi 1972, au bord des génocides'', pp. 89-90 because of a lack of reliable information on it. Owing to its life span of little more than a week, no formal

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

structures were ever established in Martyazo.

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