The government has strongly rejected widespread reports that the FNL is preparing a new rebellion from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (November 2010, The political scene). Despite a rising level of clashes between armed assailants and the military within Burundi itself, particularly in areas that have previously been FNL strongholds, the government has insisted that the country is instead suffering from a wave of criminal "banditry". The government has also invited Mr Rwasa-who is suspected to be in eastern DRC-back to the country, saying that he would be safe if he were to return. Mr Rwasa has declined the offer. Mindful of the lack of support among heads of state in the region for renewed armed insurgency in Burundi, Mr Rwasa has still not publicly revealed his intentions, but some sources within eastern DRC continue to report that the FNL is recruiting combatants, and forging a tactical alliance with eastern DRC-based Rwandan Hutu militia. Meanwhile, on November 30th Richard Delvaux Ciramunda, a Burundian with a Belgian father, announced on Gabon's Radio Africa Number One that he is the leader of a new armed group called the Front Patriotique pour la Libération (FPL), which he claimed had strong support inside and outside Burundi, and which was launching an armed struggle against the country's "corrupt and nepotistic" government. Although Mr Ciramunda's claims of support appear far-fetched and some have accused him of being a fraud, if he teamed up with the FNL this could present a fresh guise for it to launch a new rebellion in the country.