UN Chief Condemns Killing Of 9 Civilians, 2 Police Officers In Burundi

The police entered their compound looking for the kidnappers and were shooting anyone who was in range, according to witnesses.

Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said one policeman was among the dead and another was seriously wounded in clashes with “insurgents” in the Ngagara district of Bujumbura. Alongside Musaga and Cibitoke, Ngagara has been at the centre of the protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza over his pursuit of a controversial third term.

It said the secretary-general extended his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and urged Burundi authorities to undertake rigorous and prompt investigation into the circumstances and motives behind the despicable crimes. A 10th fatality was reported in Jabe district, where a woman was killed in a grenade blast late Tuesday, while explosions were also heard in three other areas of Bujumbura, he said.

Burundi has been in a state of unrest since April, when President Nkurunziza’s plan to remain in office for a third term sparked waves protests and a failed coup.

Last month, the U.S. State Department called on Burundi’s government to disarm all militias, including the ruling party’s youth wing, the Imbonerakure, to prevent a further escalation of violence.

Ban condemned the killings in which two police officers also died during exchanges of heavy gunfire in Bujumbura on Tuesday. Opponents said the bid breached the law and the terms of a peace deal that ended a 13-year civil war in 2006.

“The unstable situation in Burundi is marked by human rights violations including extra-judicial executions, arbitrary arrest and dentition of persons opposing the third term”, the United Nations report read.