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Explosions, gunfire shake Burundian capital, one dead

Friday, 22 January 2016 1:53 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 25 January 2016 9:18 AM ]

Burundian protesters hold banners as the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power (not seen), arrives at Bujumbura airport, Burundi, on January 21, 2016. (© AFP)

Explosions and bursts of gunfire have rocked several neighborhoods of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, leaving at least one person dead as UN Security Council delegates arrived in the East African country to put an end to months of political instability.

On Thursday evening, security forces shot and killed a young man in the northeastern Mutakura neighborhood of Bujumbura following the explosion of a hand grenade in the area. Another person sustained gunshot wounds in the same area.

Residents said the sound of blasts and skirmishes could be heard across the capital, namely in the central Bwiza district and the southern Musaga neighborhood, between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (1630-1800 GMT).

The developments came shortly after a Security Council delegation arrived in Bujumbura to press government officials to engage in negotiations with opposition figures, and agree to the deployment 5,000 peacekeepers in a bid to put an end to the deadly violence that has beleaguered Burundi since April last year.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in Bujumbura on Thursday to express their resentment over what they described as meddling in Burundi's domestic affairs.

The protesters carried signs reading “Genocide Will Not Happen” and “Stop Interfering in Burundian Affairs” in English.

Suspected fighters and recovered weapons are shown in Bujumbura, Burundi, on December 12, 2015. ©Reuters

Burundi plunged into turmoil back in April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid to compete for a third presidential term. The decision was denounced by the opposition, arguing that the move was contrary to the constitution, which only allows two successive presidential terms.

Some 200 people have been killed since then, with the violence spiraling after the head of state won an outright victory in the July presidential election.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein cautioned last month that the country risks sliding back into civil war. Fought along ethnic lines, a civil war killed around 300,000 people in Burundi between 1993 and 2005.

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