U.S. to sanction four in Burundi over violence

The four blacklisted individuals include public security minister Guillaume Bunyoni; national police deputy director-general Godefroid Bizimana; former intelligence chief Maj.

“Burundi is on the precipice, but there is a clear path available to Burundi’s leaders to avoid further violence and reach a political solution to the crisis”, said White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. Further sanctions can be levied against those who have engaged in or supported actions to threaten stability in Burundi, or anyone who has committed human rights abuses, the White House said. The European Union and African Union have also imposed sanctions on the four Burundians. U.S. citizens and firms are for example prohibited from dealing with the listed individuals.

The Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term sparked clashes in the country, which the Obama administration has labeled a “humanitarian, economic, and security crisis”.

While Burundi’s exports to the USA a minimal, valued at just several million dollars, any disruption would be significant for an economy already forecast by the International Monetary Fund to contract by 7.2% this year.

The White House stressed that the action “is not targeted at the people of Burundi”, but is instead focused on government officials and armed groups who “contribute to the turmoil there”. The other victim was killed in the southern neighborhood of Kanyosha.

Heavy gunfire and grenade explosions were heard overnight Saturday, with the bodies of four people found on the streets on Sunday morning.

The groups, which led the protests against Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term of office, had earlier seen their bank accounts, and those of their leaders, frozen by Prosecutor General Valentine Bagorikunda.

“The United States remains opposed to the use of violence or other unlawful means to achieve aims or to seize power”, Price said, adding that sanctions against “additional individuals is ongoing” if these people “resort to violence and obstruct a political resolution to this crisis”.