Burundi talks put off after killing

Activists in Burundi who are behind weeks of protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid to seek a third term said on Sunday they were suspending talks with the government after the murder of an opposition figure.

Mr Zedi Feruzi, the leader of the Union for Peace and Development (UPD), a small Burundian opposition party, was shot dead on Saturday, a day after a grenade attack on a busy market also killed three people and injured around 40 others.

The attacks have dramatically worsened tensions in the crisis-hit central African nation, where a heavy-handed crackdown on the anti-government demonstrations has already left at least 30 people dead since late April. The country is emerging from a failed coup against President Nkurunziza.

Condemning the apparent assassination as “an awful act”, activists said in a statement they were “suspending participation in dialogue with the government” that had been supported by the United Nations and the African Union.

They also said the murder could have been part of an alleged “plan to physically eliminate” leaders of the campaign against Nkurunziza.

A journalist who witnessed the attack said the gunmen were clad in uniforms similar to those worn by the presidential guard.

The presidency has denied any involvement, saying it was “shocked” by the attack, in which a police bodyguard was also killed.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the latest violence and appealed for “calm and restraint”.

Civil society leader Pacifique Nininahazwe on Friday announced a weekend truce “to allow the people to bury with dignity those who died for democracy,” but has warned that  “protests would resume today with even more force.”

FAILED COUP

Burundi’s crisis, which began in late April after the ruling party nominated Nkurunziza to stand again in the June 26 presidential election, deepened last week when a top general led a failed coup. Mr Nkurunziza postponed the parliamentary polls for a week, but has said nothing about the presidential one.

Over 50,000 Burundian refugees are struggling to survive in dire conditions on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Cholera has broken out in the squalid camps, killing at least 31 people.

The East African Trade Union Confederation has condemned the violence and killing of the opposition leader. The union, the umbrella association of trade unions in the region has also called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene.

“We are perturbed by the killings in Burundi including that of Mr Zedi Feruzi,” said Chairman Francis Atwoli.

Mr Atwoli, who is also the secretary-general of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions, said the intolerance is a threat to the region’s democratic gains.

“Mr Kenyatta should speak to Mr Nkurunziza to find a truce with the protesters opposed to his third-term bid in office,” said Mr Atwoli.