AFRICA

Violence Spreads in Burundi as Rwanda Warns of Genocide Risks
By Kayla Ruble

November 9, 2015 | 6:55 pm

The government of Burundi is hitting back at the president of neighboring Rwanda, Paul Kagame, after he called out his Burundian counterpart Pierre Nkurunziza and warned of genocide risks across the border. The latest exchange of words comes as an escalation in violence in Burundi raises concerns that those risks may be about to turn the crisis into massive-scale violence. Unrest began in April, sparked by Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office by changing the constitution.

Just days after the high-profile killing of the son of a prominent Burundian human rights activist, Kagame gave a speech over the weekend urging Burundi to avoid reverting to the ethnic violence that engulfed both countries in the 1990s, saying his southern neighbor should have "learned the lesson of our history."

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On Friday, Welly Nzitonda turned up dead just hours after being detained by authorities, with his body discovered in Bujumbura's Mutakura neighborhood. Nzitonda was the son of human rights activist Pierre Claver Mbonimpa and just one of a number of political assassination victims in Burundi since the July elections. Mbonimpa's son-in-law was murdered in October and gunmen attempted to kill the activist himself back in August.

Following Nzitonda's death, the United States Department of State issued a statement expressing grave concern over the political and security situation in Burundi, saying it was ready to offer support to any dialogue aimed at tackling the crisis.

"Nzitonda's killing is the latest in a cycle of violence between government security forces, armed opposition groups, and criminal gangs," the statement read. "We are particularly concerned that inflammatory rhetoric deployed in recent days by some government officials and President Nkurunziza's planned security crackdown this weekend are increasing the risk of an outbreak of mass violence in Burundi."

Violence continued through the weekend in the midst of the government's arms-collecting activities, with an attack on Saturday night carried out by gunmen at a bar in Bujumbura's Kanyosha neighborhood that left nine people dead.

The Kanyosha attack signals a spreading of violence in the capital, with the neighborhood — a stronghold for the rebel group FNL — coming under fire for the first time since the crisis began, according to Cara Jones, a Burundi expert and political science professor at Mary Baldwin College. Until now, violence had centered around opposition strongholds like Cibitoke and Mutakura, with many of the residents in these areas involved in the early protests.

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Burundi experiencing ‘deep political crisis’ with hundreds dead since April, Security Council told

9 November 2015 – Senior United Nations officials today warned the UN Security Council that Burundi is at a critical juncture, experiencing a deep political crisis and rapidly escalating violence with serious implications for the country’s stability and ethnic harmony, as bodies are regularly dumped in the streets of the capital, Bujumbura, and thousands of people flee the bloodshed.

Noting that in Bujumbura the situation is very tense, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, told the Council that several neighbourhoods, especially those perceived to have opposed the President’s re-election for a third term in July, experience nightly exchanges of gunshots and grenade explosions.

“Traumatized residents frequently discover mutilated bodies, victims of executions,” he stated.

Civil unrest erupted in April in Bujumbura after the ruling party elected President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate. While election were considered relatively peaceful and conducted adequately, the UN reported that the overall environment was “not conducive” to an inclusive, free and credible process.

“The May 22 killing of Zedi Feruzi, a key opposition figure, marked the beginning of a troubling pattern of politically-motivated assassinations and attacks,” Mr. Feltman noted. “Neither the conclusion of Burundi's legislative and presidential electoral cycle this summer nor the inclusion of some key opposition figures in the governing coalition calmed the situation, which has instead grown more troubling.”

Just this morning, at least two people were killed by a grenade attack in the Musaga neighbourhood in Bujumbura. On Saturday, at least nine people, including a UN staff member, were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire inside a bar in Bujumbura’s Kanyosha neighbourhood. The bar was alleged to have been a previous meeting venue of anti-third mandate demonstrators.

“The crisis in Burundi is political at its core and cannot be resolved by a security clampdown,” the senior official stressed. “It is not credible to claim that a small group of criminals or traitors are behind the current violence. The problem is much deeper and thus more worrying.”

To address the deteriorating situation, he said Burundian leaders will need to address the political deadlock that preceded and transcended the summer elections. “In this regard, the [Government] has established a commission for inter-Burundian dialogue, said to be open to all except those implicated in the failed coup d’état on 14 May,” he informed the Council.

“While the UN in general supports national dialogue efforts, this commission will not be able to make much progress in the tense security context where members of political parties and civil society are frequently found dead on the streets,” he insisted. “With many media outlets closed down since spring and opposition leaders abroad afraid to return home, the Government has not established the conditions for credible and inclusive political dialogue. We encourage the Burundian authorities to do so as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, he recalled that in October, the African Union Peace and Security Council agreed on a multi-pronged approach to address the situation, including the expansion of its human rights observers and military experts and the initiation of contingency planning for the possible deployment of an African-led Mission in the country.

In addition, the UN Secretary-General is expected in the coming days to announce the appointment of a Special Adviser who will lead and coordinate UN efforts in support of Burundi.

These events, he highlighted to the Council, are happening at a time when the mandate of the UN Electoral Observation Mission in Burundi is ending. Meanwhile, the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB) closed at the end of last year, at the request of the Government.

Also addressing the Security Council was the UN human rights chief, who reported his deepening concern regarding the “increasingly grave human rights crisis” in the country.

“At least 240 people have been killed since protests began in April, with bodies dumped on the streets on an almost nightly basis,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein declared.

“There have been hundreds of cases of arbitrary arrest and detention in the past month alone, targeting members of the opposition, journalists, human rights defenders and their families, people attending the funerals of those who have been killed, and inhabitants of neighbourhoods perceived to be supportive of the opposition,” he continued.

“Fear of this violence, and the spectre of more bloodshed, are driving ordinary Burundians out of their homes. There are now well over 280,000 internally displaced people and refugees across the Great Lakes region. To make matters worse, it is reported that armed groups are recruiting in some refugee camps in neighbouring countries, and that agents of the Burundi Government are also present to identify opponents,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said that President Nkurunziza set an ultimatum last week for Burundians to hand in all weapons, warning that those who would not do so would be dealt with as “enemies of the nation." He noted that recent inflammatory remarks by members of the Government have suggested that this crisis, which has involved targeting people for their perceived political affiliations, could increasingly take on an ethnic dimension.

“The President of the Senate recently ordered local authorities to identify ‘elements which are not in order’ and to report them to the police for them to be dealt with,” Mr. Zeid warned. “He also called on the authorities to rally people to get ready to ‘pulverize.’ Phrases such as these recall language that this region has heard before, and should not be hearing again. They could signal the imminence of much worse, and more widespread, violence.”

He said he believes that the strong interventions of many officials and States in recent days “may have great influence,” and urged neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes to step up their attempts to promote a credible and inclusive political dialogue in Burundi.

“I also believe it is the responsibility of this Council to address a situation of profound concern, well-known for many months, and which could lead to even greater carnage,” Mr. Zeid added, appealing to its members to keep Burundi at the top of the Security Council agenda.

He further stressed the essence of having an inclusive dialogue take place among all stakeholders in Burundi, in accordance with the Arusha Agreement which put an end to 12 years of massacres and warfare in 2005.

Meanwhile, earlier today in a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also reiterated his appeal to all national stakeholders, in particular the Government of Burundi, “to keep the interests of the people of Burundi uppermost and resolve all outstanding issues through an inclusive dialogue.”

Wenigstens endlich mal ein nicht religiös motivierter Bürgerkrieg

Das mit den Pangas in den Straßen musst du mir allerdings mal erklären. Sind das nicht Fischerboote?

Burundi: AU to Send Observers to Bujumbura, Deployment of Peacekeepers Halted

By Fred Oluoch
The African Union Peace and Security Council has temporarily stayed the deployment of peacekeepers to Burundi and instead voted to increase the number of specialised observers.

The Council has authorised the deployment of 100 military experts, police and human rights observers to Burundi by December 15, after the AU Commission signs a memorandum of understanding that will govern the activities and movement of experts.

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Burundi crisis: Military bases attacked in Bujumbura

Heavily armed attackers have launched co-ordinated assaults on several army barracks in Burundi.
An army spokesman said in a statement that 12 insurgents had been killed and another 20 arrested.
Witnesses described hearing gunfire and explosions for several hours, in Musaga in the south and Ngagara in the north.
The incident is the worst violence since an attempted coup in May, sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's third-term bid.

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It is not clear who is behind the attacks but a military spokesperson said insurgents wanted to take weapons before freeing prisoners.

Rebel groups in Burundi have announced the creation of a unified force to try to oust President Pierre Nkurunziza. The group calls itself the Republican Forces of Burundi or 'Forebu'. Hundreds of people have been killed in political violence in Burundi since Mr Nkurunziza announced in April that he would stand for a third term in office. One of the leaders of the new rebel force, Edouard Nshimirimana who was formerly an army colonel, accused the president of state terrorism and said his men would fight to protect the population and restore democracy. On Monday, the government in Bujumbura rejected the deployment of a force of five-thousand African Union peace keepers, saying it would be an invasive force.