Burundi: Tension does not stop rising in the country

By on June 18, 2010
The Burundian police charged on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010, about 200 activists of the National Liberation Forces (ex-rebels), who came down, from the surrounding hills of Bujumbura city, to protect their leader, Agathon Rwasa, from a possible arrest. According to numerous eye witnesses, the police charged the partisans using teargas and shooting real bullets. The Burundian police would have even used rocket launchers, and the toll balance was heavy: about fifteen persons were badly wounded and forty other activists arrested.

The police spokesman reacted by denouncing what he qualified as “false declaration”. He stated that “The police did not use any fire arms, or machine guns at all”, but he recognised the questioning of thirty two persons among whom seven women.
In the evening of June 16th, the tension was tangible in the Burundian capital. The leader of the FNL and his close relatives could not answer the telephone calls , while police  was surrounding the access to his residence.

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