Rwanda has denied allegations that it expelled hundreds of Burundian refugees, saying a crackdown on illegal immigrants did not target Burundians but all foreigners.

Burundian officials told news agencies this week that over 1,500 Burundians who have been seeking refuge in Rwanda were expelled for “political reasons” but Kigali says the expelled people have been living in Rwanda without proper documentation.

The expulsions have further soured relations between the two neighbours, with Rwandan officials accusing Bujumbura of ‘politicising’ the ongoing exercise to ensure foreigners living in Rwanda get proper documents.

“We have not expelled any refugees. The said people who were sent back to Burundi were not refugees but those who were illegally entering or living in Rwanda without proper documents,” Frederick Ntawukuriryayo, the spokesperson of the ministry said.

“This exercise was conducted by local government authorities. None of the people who were asked to go back and attain proper documentation had declared themselves as refugees.”

The majority of those sent back to Burundi were living in the Southern Province, which share a border with the northern part of Burundi.

Philippe Ngabonziza, mayor of the Burundian town of Ntega, close to the border with Rwanda, told AFP that 1,320 expelled Burundians had arrived since Friday.

The governor of the neighbouring Ngozi district, Albert Nduwimana, also said that they had received 218 people over the weekend.

The expulsions are the latest development in the uneasy relations between Rwanda and Burundi in two weeks, following a UN report that once again accused Kigali of backing rebels seeking to topple President Pierre Nkurunziza. Rwanda dismissed the UN expert’s report, which came out last week.

The Governor of Rwanda’s Southern Province Alphonse Munyantwali said that there are hundreds of illegal Burundian infiltrators, with over 1,700 in the border district of Gisagara. The exercise to expel them began on May 13.

There are over 75,000 Burundian refugees in Rwanda, who maintain they cannot return home due to violence. Over 500 people have been killed since the political instability broke out last year. Over 250,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries.

Since the souring of relations between the two countries, Rwandans in Burundi have accused Burundian security operatives of attacking them, with hundreds, mainly businessmen, returning to Rwanda.