Burundi has been very politically alienated and unstable since its independence. There has been various ethnic clashes between the two major ethnic groups and the violence has forced many Burundians to take refugee in neighboring countries, mainly Tanzania. The Burundian civil war that lasted from 1993 to 2005 brought many refugees flooding into Tanzania and various accusations stained the relationship between the Tanzanian and the current Burundian government. The civil war was ended by mediation between the rivaling parties and the then Tanzanian foreign minister Jakaya Kikwete.