The statement noted that the crisis arose since the end of the civil war after President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a controversial third term in office.
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Burundian officials say 10 people were killed Tuesday – including a journalist, his family and one policeman – during an attempt to rescue kidnapped police officers in the capital, Bujumbura. It’s unclear who attacked the police officers. There are conflicting reports about how Nkezabahizi, his wife and two teenage children were killed.
Residents of the Ngagara neighbourhood – a stronghold for opposition supporters – said two police officers and a television cameraman and his family were among the dead. An unidentified witness cited by national radio on Wednesday said men wearing the uniform of Burundi’s presidential guard shot him dead and killed five other people in his compound. They were reportedly shot during a police operation to rescue the kidnapped officers.
Police contend it was the criminals’ bullets that killed the family during crossfire.
Nkurikiye said an investigation had begun into the cameraman’s death.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, a woman was killed in a grenade explosion in the Jabe district.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday in New York condemned the killing of nine civilians and two police officers in Bujumbura, Burundi. His opponents said he was violating term limits in the constitution, as well as key pieces in the peace deal that ended Burundi’s civil war.
Officials expect the number of Burundian refugees to rise as violent protests and extra-judicial killings continue.
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Burundi has also accused neighbouring Rwanda of training rebels seeking to destabilise the country, something Rwanda denies.
