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BUJUMBURA. — Burundi’s army has captured scores of gunmen and killed others in two days of clashes in the north, a regional governor said yesterday, the latest flare-up of violence in a nation that emerged from civil war in 2005.
A rebel general, who was involved in a failed coup attempt in May, told Reuters last week he and his comrades were mobilising forces to topple President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has triggered a political crisis by seeking a third term in office.
General Leonard Ngendakumana told French radio on Friday, when the first clashes were reported in north Burundi, his loyalists were involved. The army could not immediately be reached for comment.
The fighting is an alarming development in a region with a history of conflict, often fuelled by ethnic divisions. But an official said the latest fighting did not follow ethnic divides. The United States has condemned the violence and urged dialogue.
“About 100 gunmen are in the hands of the army forces,” said Anselme Nsabimana, governor of Cibitoke province, which borders both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“There is no more fighting in Cibitoke. It’s calm,” he told Reuters, adding rebels were also killed without giving numbers. — Reuters.
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