Obama imposed sanctions on four specific individuals: Burundi Minister of Public Security Alain Bunyoni, national police leader Godefroid Bizimana, former intelligence chief Godefroid Niyombare, and Cyrille Ndayirukiye, former Burundi Minister of Defense.
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“We spoke to a few of relatives of those killed who told us their relatives were killed by people in police uniforms”, Nikoyagize said.
Burundi also has a history of deadly conflicts between the country’s Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups.
Executive orders give the U.S. president significant powers including to seize property.
Burundi has descended into violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in April he would run for a third term – a move opponents said violated the constitution – and went on to win a disputed election in July.
While Burundi’s exports to the United States a minimal, valued at just several million dollars, any disruption would be significant for an economy already forecast by the International Monetary Fund to contract by 7.2% this year. Nkurunziza was sworn in for his controversial third term in August.
Burundi could be pulled back from the “precipice” it said if “all sides…demonstrate the strength and leadership necessary to put aside violence and engage in an internationally-mediated dialogue outside Burundi”.
“We have received multiple, credible, and ongoing reports of targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and political repression by security forces, as well as violence and abuses by youth militia affiliated with the ruling party”, it said.
The decision came after four people were killed in a renewed spate of violence in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura on Sunday, Moise Nkurunziza, deputy spokesman of the Burundian police, told Anadolu Agency.
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The White House said the crisis has forced more than 200,000 Burundians to become refugees.
