Burundi officials skip crisis talks days before poll

The talks have been marked by tensions on Saturday, with the federal government aspect accusing the opposition of siding with the generals who led the failed coup.

Burundi’s presidential election was postponed to July 30 to make way for the talks.

Kiyonga advised reporters that a few progress had been made on points together with safety and the return of refugees, though the opposition has complained the elemental challenge behind the crisis – Nkurunziza’s candidacy – is unresolved and accused the federal government of simply making an attempt to however time before the polls. “They have refused to save Burundi from sliding into an abyss”.

More than 150 000 people have fled the country because of the unrest, which has included a fierce government crackdown on demonstrations that left at least 100 dead.

Burundi’s crisis began in late April when Nkurunziza announced his intention to stand for a third consecutive five-year term, despite a constitutional two-term limit, sparking months of turmoil and an attempted coup in mid-May.

Small, landlocked and one of the world’s poorest nations, Burundi is situated in the heart of central Africa’s troubled Great Lakes region.

Earlier this week, Burundi’s army said it killed 31 suspected rebels and detained another 170 in the country’s north. Frederic Bamvuginyumvira, an opposition leader, said July 14 that at least 45 people have been killed across the nation in the previous week, some of them activists opposed to Nkurunziza’s re-election bid.

Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga arrived in the capital Bujumbura on Thursday, a day after Museveni left saying he had secured a commitment from government, opposition and civil society to negotiate “without interruption”.

The talks are backed by the East African Community.

The worldwide Crisis Group, a conflict prevention think-tank, has also already warned that the Crisis has all the ingredients to kick-start renewed civil war.

Nkurunziza’s ruling CNDD-FDD party scored a extensively-anticipated landslide win in parliamentary polls held on May 29, however these have been boycotted by the opposition and condemned internationally as neither free nor truthful.

“The government has increased in strength by using delaying tactics”, a Western diplomat said, commenting on the failed mediation efforts.

In a State House statement on Wednesday, Museveni said that the warring parties have agreed to unconditionally and expeditiously continue with talks in order to reach an agreement on political issues affecting Burundi’s current situation.

Nkurunziza, however, views his presidency as divine destiny, and has campaigned on a promise of keeping the peace and lifting the country out of poverty. The president cites a court ruling declaring he can run for five more years in office.