Burundi: Tensions heighten as trial begins for failed coup plotters

Days after Friday’s (December 11) clashes in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura killing 87 people, a trial has began for the May coup plotters amid heightened tensions. Generals and senior army officers are among the 28 people standing trial for the attempted coup sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in April. He was re-elected in a disputed election in July which opponents term as a violation of the peace deal that ended the civil war. Night-time gunfire and sporadic blasts have become common in Bujumbura since the beginning of the crisis in April and according to residents, Friday’s gunfire was much more intense, reports Reuters. Residents said police shot and killed people in the Cibitoke district after house-to-house searches. Army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza said the “sweep operation” has ended and confirmed fatalities on both sides after the heavy fighting. “Sindumuja tried to attack military camps but they failed,” presidential media adviser Willy Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter, describing the raids as “a diversion” to try to free prisoners. #Burundi : When intl observers are around we often get night gunfire. Tonight the #Sindumuja tried to attack military camps but they failed.— Willy Nyamitwe (@willynyamitwe) December 11, 2015 “Situation is returning to normal as firearms are seized, many Sindumuja assailants killed or arrested,” he wrote. #Burundi : Situation is returning to normal as firearms are seized, many #Sindumuja assailants killed or arrested pic.twitter.com/uddDh7luUz— Willy Nyamitwe (@willynyamitwe) December 11, 2015 Until now, battle lines in Burundi’s crisis have followed the political divide. This has also unnerved a region that remains volatile two decades after the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. Burundi accuses Rwanda of “training” and “arming” rebel group Burundi accused neighbouring Rwanda on Monday of supporting a rebel group that was recruiting Burundian refugees on Rwandan soil, allegations Kigali denied. The comments were prompted by a report published by the charity Refugees International, which said it was “deeply concerned” by claims of Burundian refugees in Rwanda that they were being recruited by “non-state armed groups”. “We have been emphasising the fact that Burundi refugees are recruited into a rebel group, trained and armed by Rwanda. Burundi continues to condemn and denounce it,” Burundi’s presidential media adviser, Willy Nyamitwe, told Reuters. He said armed insurgents, led by officers who launched a failed coup, had attacked Burundi in July and “found refuge in Rwanda.” He said the group “continued to perpetrate terrorist attacks in Burundi,” he wrote in a message via social media. Rwanda’s minister of disaster management and refugee affairs, Seraphine Mukantabana, dismissed the allegations when asked about the report by Refugees International. “These are continuing baseless allegations,” she said, dismissing the idea of any refugees going missing because of any recruitment. “Even some few refugees who return home respect all legal requirements,” she said. More than 220,000 have fled Burundi since the crisis erupted in April. Rwanda says more than 73,000 Burundians are now on its soil. Africanews is launching online at the beginning of next month to deliver stories from across Africa with local insight and regional perspectives. Until then you can get a preview of its content on Twitter and Facebook Tweets by @africanews !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?‘http’:‘https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+”://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,“script”,“twitter-wjs”); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));Actress Lupita Nyong'o dazzles at the premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in Hollywood.Posted by Africanews on Tuesday, December 15, 2015