At least 240 people have been killed and more than 200,000 others have fled the country since violence began with opposition demonstrations in April 2015.
The authorities in Burundi seem to be harkening to the calls for inclusive dialogue proposed by the international community to end rising violence that has claimed at least 240 lives and created more than 200,000 refugees since the opposition took to the streets to protest President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for the term presidential term last April. The violence has continued unabated with at least six people killed and several others wounded in the capital, Bujumbura on Monday, November 16, 2015 a week after the Police launched a crackdown in the search for weapons. "There have been several armed criminal attacks in many neighbourhoods of Bujumbura which were apparently coordinated,” a senior police officer reportedly said, confirming that six people were killed in separate attacks.
Concerned about the violence which could spark civil war in the country, the United Nations Security Council last week passed a resolution calling on Burundi's government to engage in a dialogue with opponents, to be mediated by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on behalf of the East African Community. The U.N. resolution also threatens sanctions against anyone fueling violence in Burundi, Voice of America reported. US President Barack Obama, Voice of America said, called on Burundi’s leaders to take part in talks to end the country's political crisis and halt a growing wave of violence. He called for the talks to be internationally mediated and held outside the country.
Willy Nyamitwe, the Senior Adviser to Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza told Voice of America last Monday that government was willing to start a dialogue with the opposition, following calls for such talks by U.S. President Barack Obama and the United Nations. “It is like President Barack Obama had read the mind of Burundi's leaders. You know that the government has for a long time advocated dialogue, as it believes that any political solution to Burundi's problems will come out of dialogue," he is quoted as saying. Stating that the dialogue could take place either inside or outside the country, he added that, the government has already appointed a national commission for dialogue.
Burundi’s civil society organizations through the voice of Deogratias Niyonkuru, Secretary General of ADISCO, a Burundian NGO that organizes farmers to mobilize resources for their own development, would want to effectively participate in the political dialogue. He explained that the participation by civil society groups is needed because too often peace talks are represented by the extreme views of the government and the opposition without the voices of the people.
