Gunmen shot dead a general who was a close ally of Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza in the capital on Sunday, the presidency and witnesses said, heightening tensions after a disputed presidential poll.
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General Adolphe Nshimirimana right arm of President Pierre Nkurunziza, and head of Homeland Security has been assassinated this morning in Bujumbura following a rocket attack on his vehicle.
Police and witnesses told the AFP news agency that Nshimirimana’s auto was hit in a rocket attack in Bujumbura shortly before midday on Sunday. “The sad reality is that General Adolphe Nshimirimana is no longer with this world”, he said in a message posted on Twitter.
General Nshimirimana, who was the former army chief of staff and intelligence chief, was reportedly in charge of the President’s personal security.
Burundi has been wracked by instability since late April when Nkurunziza announced his intention to seek a third term in office, breaking the two-term limit agreed under a peace deal that ended the civil war in 2005.
Nkurunziza was declared the victor in the presidential elections a little over a week ago.
The killing was confirmed by Willy Nyamitwe, media adviser to Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza.
“We are trying to manage the situation but it is not easy”.
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There are fears that renewed conflict in the country could reignite ethnic Hutu-Tutsi violence and bring another humanitarian disaster to central Africa’s troubled Great Lakes region. Dozens were killed and about 175,000 people escaped to neighboring countries.
