Less than two weeks after the assassination of a top general, the former head of Burundi’s Tutsi-dominated army during its civil war was assassinated on Saturday, further adding to fears of widespread violence as the security situation in the country deteriorates.
Less than two weeks after the assassination of a top general, the former head of Burundi’s Tutsi-dominated army during its civil war was assassinated on Saturday, further adding to fears of widespread violence as the security situation in the country deteriorates.
AFP reports that Colonel Jean Bikomagu was shot by unidentified gunmen outside his home in Kinindo, a neighborhood in the country’s capital, Bujumbura. The retired colonel’s daughter was also seriously wounded in the attack, according to a family source.
The retired colonel played a key role as the head of the Tutsi-led government army in Burundi’s civil war, which lasted from 1993 to 2006. Over 300,000 people died over the course of the war.
Since Colonel Bikomagu was “totally out of politics,” as a former diplomat to Burundi told AFP, his assassination is seen as a symbolic reprisal for the killing of General Adolphe Nshimirimana in a rocket attack on August 2nd.
General Nshimirimana was a close aide to President Pierre Nkurunziza and a key leader in the CNDD-FDD, the Hutu rebel movement during the civil war and the current governing political party.
Burundi has been rocked by violence following the announcement by President Nkurunziza in April that he would run for a controversial third term. He was declared the winner in July elections that were boycotted by the opposition and condemned by the international community as discreditable.
A coup attempt was made in July but was unsuccessful, while the number of refugees to have fled the country since instability began in April is approaching 200,000.