Six killed, two wounded, one missing after attack and looting in Burundi
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - At least six people were killed, two wounded, another went missing and property was looted by unidentified armed individuals on Thursday night in the northern Kayanza province of Burundi, the public radio reported Friday citing local government sources.
The governor of Kayanza, Col. Rémy Cishahayo, described the assailants as "armed criminals" who came from and went back to a forest in the region, with no reported casualties in their ranks.
However, the official terminology of "criminals" is confusing according to analysts, who witness an increasing number of organised and unclaimed attacks in a country that is well controlled by government defence and security forces.
The forces of law and order generally operate in a four-way relationship with the administration, the population, and the judiciary.
This relationship was thwarted by an armed attack on the night of August 23-24 that claimed at least 11 lives in southern Burundi.
There too, the local administration had implicated "armed criminals" from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The victims were simple villagers who were forced to carry the loot of the attackers before being executed on the way back.
These attacks came in the wake of the establishment of newly elected institutions in the country, which raised hopes of ending the deleterious sociopolitical and security climate in Burundi since 2015.
The previous controversial elections in 2015 had provoked an insurgent movement of the population and an attempted military putsch.
In addition, several armed rebellions declared themselves in the shadow of the 2015 political crisis, but without going beyond mere threats.
It is not known for the moment whether these same rebellions are waking up in a Burundian context still marked by numerous demands.
The return of political exiles is among the pressing demands, as well as national reconciliation and economic revival through the resumption of cooperation with Burundi's traditional technical and financial partners, according to analysts.
-0- PANA FB/JSG/MTA/AR 11Sept2020
