BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) – Members of the U.N. Security Council should help investigate allegations of mass graves amid a wave of extrajudicial killings in Burundi, a former president said Friday as council members visited the turbulent country and met with its current president.
Council members “must not listen to any more excuses from the Burundi government, because President Pierre Nkurunziza has failed to protect Burundians. With the formation of armed rebellion, Burundi is headed for destruction,” Jean-Baptiste Bagaza told The Associated Press.
Council members arrived in Burundi on Thursday to press for an end to months of deadly violence.
They met Friday with Nkurunziza, according to deputy presidential spokesman Jean Claude Karerwa. In a statement, the U.N. said council members also met with the country’s vice president, foreign minister, religious leaders and representatives from the media and civil society groups.
Nkurunziza’s decision to seek re-election last April touched off street protests that led to a failed coup in May and a rebellion that has left the country on the brink of civil war. Opponents and supporters of Nkurunziza in the capital, Bujumbura, have targeted each other in gun, rocket and grenade attacks, and the violence has spread to the provinces.