AUGUST 16, 2015 : ALJAZEERA
African Union urges need for dialogue to find lasting solution to
political crisis as ex-army commander assassinated.
The African Union has said that there may be “catastrophic
consequences” for Burundi and the region if political differences
are not resolved peacefully.
This comes a day after Burundi’s former army chief of staff
Jean Bikomagu was assassinated, further indicating the
possibility of renewed conflict in the country which has
witnessed violence since April over President Pierre
Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.
This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence recorded
in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of the situation
in Burundi
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, AU Commission chief
Nkurunziza won the July presidential elections despite deadly
violence and boycott by the opposition parties and civil society
groups.
AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday
called for “utmost restraint” from all sides.
“This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence
recorded in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of
the situation in Burundi – and the real risk of seeing a further
deterioration with catastrophic consequences both for the
country itself, and for the whole region,” said Dlamini-Zuma.
President Nkurunziza, a 51-year-old former sports teacher and
born-again Christian, was a Hutu rebel leader during the civil
war. The war pitted rebels from the majority Hutu people against
an army dominated by the minority Tutsi.
Colonel Jean Bikomagu, a key figure in the former Tutsi-
dominated army during the conflict which raged between 1993
and 2006, was gunned down on Saturday in his car by
unidentified assailants outside his home in the capital
Bujumbura as he returned from church.
The 13-year civil war left at least 300,000 people dead.
Mediation efforts
The murder comes less than two weeks after the assassination
by rocket attack, of feared top general Adolphe Nshimirimana,
widely considered to be the nation’s de-facto security chief.
Presidency spokesman Willy Nyamitwe commented on the
events, saying: “Another black weekend in Burundi. Blackened
by the assassination of a senior member of the Burundian army
in retirement, Colonel Jean Bikomagu …Very sad, very
shocking.”
The escalation of violence in the region has increased fears that
the small country in Africa’s Great Lakes region could descend
back into a state of conflict, with many afraid of pro-government
retaliations after Nshimirimana’s death.
Dlamini-Zuma called for the “need for dialogue and consensus
to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the current crisis.”
The AU commission chief also said that the pan-African body
continued to support mediation efforts led by Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni.
political crisis as ex-army commander assassinated.
The African Union has said that there may be “catastrophic
consequences” for Burundi and the region if political differences
are not resolved peacefully.
This comes a day after Burundi’s former army chief of staff
Jean Bikomagu was assassinated, further indicating the
possibility of renewed conflict in the country which has
witnessed violence since April over President Pierre
Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.
This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence recorded
in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of the situation
in Burundi
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, AU Commission chief
Nkurunziza won the July presidential elections despite deadly
violence and boycott by the opposition parties and civil society
groups.
AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday
called for “utmost restraint” from all sides.
“This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence
recorded in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of
the situation in Burundi – and the real risk of seeing a further
deterioration with catastrophic consequences both for the
country itself, and for the whole region,” said Dlamini-Zuma.
President Nkurunziza, a 51-year-old former sports teacher and
born-again Christian, was a Hutu rebel leader during the civil
war. The war pitted rebels from the majority Hutu people against
an army dominated by the minority Tutsi.
Colonel Jean Bikomagu, a key figure in the former Tutsi-
dominated army during the conflict which raged between 1993
and 2006, was gunned down on Saturday in his car by
unidentified assailants outside his home in the capital
Bujumbura as he returned from church.
The 13-year civil war left at least 300,000 people dead.
Mediation efforts
The murder comes less than two weeks after the assassination
by rocket attack, of feared top general Adolphe Nshimirimana,
widely considered to be the nation’s de-facto security chief.
Presidency spokesman Willy Nyamitwe commented on the
events, saying: “Another black weekend in Burundi. Blackened
by the assassination of a senior member of the Burundian army
in retirement, Colonel Jean Bikomagu …Very sad, very
shocking.”
The escalation of violence in the region has increased fears that
the small country in Africa’s Great Lakes region could descend
back into a state of conflict, with many afraid of pro-government
retaliations after Nshimirimana’s death.
Dlamini-Zuma called for the “need for dialogue and consensus
to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the current crisis.”
The AU commission chief also said that the pan-African body
continued to support mediation efforts led by Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni.
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