The National Forces of Liberation (french: Forces nationales de libération, or FNL) is a political party and former rebel group in Burundi. An ethnic Hutu group, the party was previously known as the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People (''Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu'', or PALIPEHUTU) and adhered to a radical Hutu Power ideology, but since the mid- to late-2000s has moderated its stance and cooperated with 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 ...

-supported

Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...

party in opposition to the rule of

Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 19648 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza taught ph ...

and the CNDD-FDD. PALIPEHUTU was a participant in the

Burundian Civil War The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding Ethnic conflict, ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first Mult ...

. Its armed wing was the National Forces of Liberation (''Forces nationales de libération'', or FNL). It was led by

Agathon Rwasa Agathon Rwasa (born 10 January 1964) is a Burundian politician and the leader of the National Liberation Forces (''Forces pour la Libération Nationale'', FNL). He was a Hutu militia leader during the Burundi Civil War. Rwasa was reported to b ...

and was estimated to have around 3,000 combatants.AU Peace & Security Council Report
, ''

Peace and Security Council The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security ...

'', 2006-11-09 A dissident wing is led by Jean Bosco Sindayigaya.

Formation

PALIPEHUTU was founded in 1980 in refugee camps in

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 ...

, where

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 p ...

s had fled following persecution by the

-led government.Palipehutu-FNL Conflict Database
''

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

'' PALIPEHUTU advocated armed struggle and established its armed wing, the FNL, in 1985. The National Liberation Front (FROLINA) split from PALIPEHUTU in 1990, and the armed wing PALIPEHUTU-FNL, led by Cossan Kabura split from the political wing of PALIPEHUTU in 1991. The political wing of PALIPEHUTU was renamed the Party for the Liberation of People-Agakiza and is led by Etienne Karatasi. In 2002 PALIPEHUTU-FNL split into two factions, one led by Kabura and one by

. Generally, PALIPEHUTU's support comes more from the central region of

Muramvya Muramvya is a city located in central Burundi. It is the capital city of Muramvya Province Muramvya Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. The capital city is Muramvya. In 2007 the province was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tent ...

and Lake Tanganyika, whereas the main Hutu political party CNDD derives its support from the southern

Bururi Bururi is a city located in southern Burundi. It is the capital city of Bururi Province Bururi Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi. It was formerly Burundi's largest province until the communes of Burambi, Buyengero and Rumong ...

region.

Civil war

During the civil war, PALIPEHUTU-FNL was linked to the killing of Monsignor

Michael Courtney Michael Courtney (5 February 1945 – 29 December 2003) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1980 and was given the rank of archbishop and named Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi in 2000. ...

, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's chief representative in Burundi, the

Titanic Express massacre The Titanic Express massacre was an event which took place on 28 December 2000, in which 21 people were killed in an attack on a ''Titanic Express'' bus, close to Bujumbura (the then-capital of Burundi). The passengers, who had traveled from ...

and the

Gatumba The village of Gatumba lies on the western side of Burundi, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The place is known for a massacre that took place at a refugee camp connected to the village. Massacre On August 13, 2004, a r ...

massacre in which over 150 Banyamulenge Congolese refugees were killed. PALIPEHUTU also fought in the Second Congo War alongside the Congolese army, the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda and the

Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...

against the Burundian army. Following the Gatumba massacre, the Great Lakes Peace Initiativedeclared PALIPEHUTU-FNL to be a terrorist organisation, and the South African President,

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

called on the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

to prosecute. PALIPEHUTU-FNL was the last Hutu rebel group to sign an agreement with the Burundi government, which it did in September 2006 Further agreements led to a final agreement in December 2008, according to which it also changed its name to remove "PALIPEHUTU" to leave only "FNL" as its name (as Burundian political parties may not refer to ethnicities in their names). On May 15, 2009,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

reported that 136 ex-FNL child soldiers returned to their communities in Burundi.

Party emblem

The party's emblem a bent bow and an arrow placed between a hoe and a hammer. The party's flag is red with the centre inscribed with the emblem of the party in black. Red symbolizes the suffering endured by the people of Burundi. The bent bow and the arrow symbolize the struggle for the fundamental rights and liberties. The hoe and the hammer, whose handles converges, symbolize the commitment in unity to agricultural and industrial development, respectively. Green symbolizes the hope to set up peace, justice and democracy in Burundi.Political flags of Burundi
/ref>

References

External links

Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL)
at the Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides {{DEFAULTSORT:National Forces Of Liberation Rebel groups in Burundi Political parties in Burundi Burundian Civil War 1980 establishments in Burundi Military units and formations established in 1980 Hutu