World must step in to stop Burundi tragedy

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza controls the ball during a soccer game with his friends in Bujumbura, Burundi, May 20, 2015. AFP

What you need to know:

  • It is bad enough that 30 civilians have been killed in the pre-election violence and that thousands have fled, or are fleeing, from their homes as election day draws closer.
  • There are already signs that the country is disintegrating. The international community can sit back and wait for the inevitable tragedy to unfold or step in to stop the slide to the brink, save lives, and restore political sanity before it is too late.

The killing of an opposition leader in the ongoing violence in Burundi is an ominous sign that the country is at great risk of descending into anarchy unless urgent steps are taken to stop the slide.

Already, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the country’s border with Tanzania, where thousands of people are at risk of diseases such as cholera, which is spreading in the camps of those who have fled the violence in Burundi.

The international community, beginning with Burundi’s neighbours, must act, and act fast, to ensure that the country does not plunge into ethnic cleansing. Burundi had been relatively stable and the march towards long-term peace and stability must not be halted or imperilled by the country’s leadership’s quest for power.

CIVILIANS KILLED

It is bad enough that 30 civilians have been killed in the pre-election violence and that thousands have fled, or are fleeing, from their homes as election day draws closer.

The killing of the president’s competitor only goes to make the situation worse because it sends the chilling message that the political contest has been tainted and the results of any election held there are unlikely to reflect the will of the people of Burundi.

There are already signs that the country is disintegrating. The international community can sit back and wait for the inevitable tragedy to unfold or step in to stop the slide to the brink, save lives, and restore political sanity before it is too late.

Burundi’s neighbours in East and Central Africa must take it as their responsibility to prevent widespread violence and to hold Burundi’s political and military leadership to account to prevent further loss of lives and protect the credibility of the forthcoming elections to ensure peace in Burundi and stability in the region.