Burundi: 87 people killed in Friday violence
Violence from coordinated attacks on three Burundian army installations killed 87 people, an army spokesman said Saturday, showing the escalating turmoil over the disputed third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
More than 150 armed men raided the army facilities Friday and 79 of them were killed, army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza said Saturday. Eight security agents, four from the army and four from police, also died in the fighting and 21 security officers were wounded, he said. Baratuza said forces arrested 45 members of the unidentified group that attacked the military installations.
It is not clear if the army’s number includes all of the 28 people whose bodies were found Saturday morning on the streets of Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. Residents of the city said that security forces searched houses and dragged out people and shot them, some with their hands tied behind their backs.