Burundi president unexpectedly sworn in

The Burundi presidential office has confirmed incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza has been sworn in for his third term Thursday, in a surprise ceremony six days before the scheduled inauguration.

The chairman of the National Council for the Restoration of the Arusha Agreement and Rule of Law Leonard Nyangoma had called on president Nkurunziza to step down before August 26th.

The government accuses the opposition, which says the third term is illegal, of causing the violence. There have been a string of killings since his reelection, including of a top general, killed in a rocket attack last month.

The UN eyewitness mission said the race was not free and dependable and was held “in a situation of significant question” between political adversaries. Several African countries, as well as China and Russia, sent their ambassadors.

Burundi’s opposition boycotted the poll, arguing, along with Western powers, that Nkurunziza was violating the constitution and provisions of a peace deal that ended a 1993-2005 civil war between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority.

His bid for a third five-year term had sparked months of violent protests in which about 80 people were killed.

AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday called for “utmost restraint” by all sides, warning of potential “catastrophic consequences” for troubled Burundi and the wider region if rivals do not resolve political differences peacefully.

The African Union, the European Union, and the U.S. State Department have all echoed those concerns about the election, but Nkurunziza and his supporters insist the decision was legitimate.

Many people are worried at rising tensions in Bujumbura, where gunfire has been regularly heard at night.