Violence kills 70, injures 500 in Burundi: Rights body

A rights group in Burundi says at least 70 people, mostly civilians, were killed and hundreds of others wounded during weeks of political unrest in the African country.

“We have identified 70 people killed, mostly by bullets but also grenades... the majority are civilians, as well as police and soldiers,” said Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, who heads Burundi’s influential rights group Aprodeh.

Mbonimpa said that around 500 people were also wounded, with 50 of them remaining in hospitals, adding that security forces in Burundi have jailed more than 1,000 protesters since late April.

Street protests began in Burundi after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his controversial bid for a third consecutive five-year term in office.

Nkurunziza’s decision triggered violent clashes on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura, and elsewhere in the country, with opponents branding the move as unconstitutional and a violation of a 2006 peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.

A pro-government militia known as Imbonerakure has reportedly committed numerous acts of violence, killing dozens of people during street confrontations.

Earlier this month, the UN warned about reports of such government-sponsored violence in Burundi, saying the purported coercive methods used by the militia group threaten the country’s stability.

Last month, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the violence in Burundi has forced more than 100,000 people to flee to neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, sources in the UN put the death toll in the country at 50, saying that they have not counted victims outside the street protests.

On Friday, officials said a group of seven men stormed a bar in the southern Gitanga region late on Wednesday, killing a local member of Nkurunziza’s ruling party.

Burundi is gearing up for legislative elections, which are planned for June 29 before people go to votes to elect a president on July 15.

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