United Nations, United States | AFP | Burundi on Monday barred three United Nations rights experts who had accused the government in Bujumbura of being responsible for abuses and warned of a danger of genocide from the violence. In a letter sent by Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe and seen …
Read More »Burundi wants to quit ICC to avoid possible charges
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi announced plans Friday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a week after the UN began an enquiry into human rights abuses committed since April 2015. “It is perfectly clear that this is a plot to do harm to Burundi,” said Gaston …
Read More »UN launches high-level probe of Burundi rights abuses
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN decided Friday to send a high-level team of investigators to Burundi to probe rights violations after a report warned of possible “crimes against humanity” and the risk of genocide. The UN Human Rights Council voiced “grave concern” at soaring violations seen in …
Read More »Trade war bites as Burundi bans exports to Rwanda
Unexpected outcomes from Burundi’s trade ban on Rwanda Burundi’s July decision to ban exports to its northern neighbor, Rwanda, is brewing trouble for both economies; the question is whether the embattled leadership in Bujumbura can afford to pay that price. The export restrictions on Rwanda were imposed in July by Burundian …
Read More »UN vote on Burundi police force expected Friday
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Friday on deploying a UN police force to Burundi to monitor human rights and help quell violence in the African country. France requested a vote on a draft resolution presented two weeks ago to …
Read More »South Sudan violence tops African Union summit agenda
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Renewed fighting in South Sudan that has claimed more than 300 lives dominated discussions at an African Union summit that opened Sunday in the Rwandan capital Kigali. A shaky ceasefire has held since late Monday following the fighting that raged for four days in Juba, …
Read More »Mkapa flies to Brussels in fresh bid to end Burundi strife
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A former Tanzanian president mediating talks to end Burundi’s deadly crisis will meet the opposition this weekend in a bid to end the deadlock, diplomatic and opposition sources said Tuesday. Benjamin Mkapa is to hold talks in Brussels with members of CNARED, which groups almost …
Read More »Burundi crisis talks delayed again
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Long-stalled peace talks that many hope will solve a year-long crisis in Burundi have been delayed again, the opposition said Friday. Hundreds have been killed and a quarter of a million people have fled Burundi since President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial decision last April to run …
Read More »Burundi govt won’t join crisis talks unless consulted
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s government on Wednesday refused to participate in stalled talks to end months of political crisis unless it was first consulted on who else was taking part. As Washington urged the authorities to defuse a year-long crisis, a presidential statement, broadcast on national radio and …
Read More »After oil pipeline, Tanzania pushes for rail link project to Rwanda
After formally bagging the new oil pipeline from the Ugandan oilfields through Tanzania to the port of Tanga, yet more good news emerged for Tanzania today. The proposed railway extension from the inland dry port of Isaka to Kigali and Bujumbura will after all be built, providing a safe, …
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