This cycle of partisan violence harks back to early 2008, when civilians associated with the FNL, the ruling CNDD-FDD, and the intelligence service (Service National du Renseignement, SNR) were victims of targeted assassinations in and around Bujumbura. Killings were traced to demobilized FDD combatants (“démobilisés”) working for the police and the intelligence service, on the one hand, and to FNL members, on the other.