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News > World

Burundi Rejects African Union Peacekeeping Troops

  • A protester runs past a Burundian police riot van in Musaga, on the outskirts of Bujumbura, on April 27, 2015.

    A protester runs past a Burundian police riot van in Musaga, on the outskirts of Bujumbura, on April 27, 2015. | Photo: AFP

Published 19 December 2015
Opinion

The African Union plans to send 5,000 troops to calm the escalating violence a week after 40 people were found dead across the capital.

Burundi’s government has reacted angrily to the African Union’s plan to deploy a peacekeeping force of 5,000 troops in a bid to prevent further violence in the troubled African nation.

The African Union's Peace and Security Council agreed Friday night to administer an African Prevention and Protection Mission for an initial period of six months, primarily to protect civilians after months of political violence. 

In a statement, the African Union said the force seeked to "prevent any deterioration of the security situation" and "contribute to the creation of the necessary conditions for the successful holding of the inter-Burundian dialogue."

In an angry response Saturday, Burundi government spokesperson Gervais Abayeho said that they "will not allow foreign troops" into the country and that President Pierre Nkurunziza "should be consulted before making such decisions."

"We are a troop-contributing country to several African Union peacekeeping missions in Africa and now they want to bring peacekeepers to our country?” said Abayeho. “Why don't they just return our troops if they think we need help here?"

OPINION: Escalating Violence in Burundi

The African Union gave the Burundi government 96 hours to cooperate fully and accept the deployment of peacekeepers, warning that it reserved the right to enforce its decision to send in forces.

Landlocked Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, has seen fervent unrest since President Nkurunziza announced his candidacy for a third term in April. Violence escalated further following his controversial re-election in July.

Just last week around 40 bodies were found strewn across the capital Bujumbura in what is widely regarded to be government retaliation after assaults on three military sites by anti-Nkurunziza forces.

Burundi endured a brutal civil war from 1993 to 2005 where rebel groups of the Hutu majority, including one led by current President Pierre Nkurunziza, fought against what was then an army led by the Tutsi minority.

VIDEO: The State of the Black Worker & Violence in Burundi

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