Burundi president declares war on nation: Opposition
A key Burundian opposition leader has accused the country’s president of declaring “war” on the nation by clinging onto power, calling for his "immediate departure" to facilitate a political transition.
"The regime in Bujumbura is desperate to stay in power, he (President Pierre Nkurunziza) has declared war on the people," said veteran political leader Leonard Nyangoma in a Thursday interview with AFP.
He said security forces are targeting opponents of Nkurunziza with "numerous arrests, torture, killings and atrocities."
Calling on Burundians to remain "calm and united”, Nyangoma, who heads the opposition CNARED coalition, sounded alarm about the persisting political crisis in the country.
"The situation is extremely serious: the political, socio-economic situation is deteriorating day by day," he said.
Nkurunziza managed to make his way into a third term after a disputed July election following widespread protests and a failed coup.
When Nkurunziza announced his candidacy in April, the opposition slammed the move as unconstitutional.
Burundi, an impoverished land-locked nation in the heart of Central Africa's troubled Great Lakes region, is feared to be plunging into civil war anew. The country’s last civil war between 1993 and 2006 resulted in 300,000 deaths.
The United Nations has registered more than 181,000 Burundians as refugees in neighboring nations, warning that the actual figure is probably "significantly higher."
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