Government of Burundi | Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, was Burundi's water, environment and planning minister.

Burundi's environment minister was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura early Sunday, police said, the first assassination of its kind since the country was plunged into political turmoil in 2015.

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Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, the country's water, environment and planning minister, was killed shortly after midnight, according to a tweet sent by police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye.

The murder, the first of a serving government minister since Burundi sank into turmoil over President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in 2015, comes after months of relative calm.

"Minister of water and environment killed by a criminal with a gun on his way home to Rohero, around 00:45," Nkurikiye wrote four hours after the incident.

He added that a woman had been arrested following the "assassination".

Also on Twitter, Nkurunziza offered his condolences "to the family and all Burundians" vowing the crime would be punished.

At least 500 people have been killed and 300,000 have fled the country since unrest began in April 2015.

(AFP)</s>RIO DE JANEIRO
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Police in the state of Sao Paulo said the shooter was believed to have been angry over a separation from his former wife, who was among those killed. Local media reports said the couple's eight-year-old son also died.

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• Burundi's Environment Minister was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura early yesterday, police said, the first killing of its kind since the country was plunged into political turmoil.

Mr Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, the Water, Environment and Planning Minister, was killed shortly after midnight, according to a tweet sent by police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye.

He added that a woman had been arrested following the "assassination". The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.</s>A gunman has killed environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru in the conflict-ridden East African nation of Burundi, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

The minister was shot dead with a pistol in the early hours of Sunday in the streets of the Rohero neighbourhood in the capital, Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said on Twitter.

The police arrested a woman over her alleged involvement in the assassination, the spokesman added.

Burundi has been suffering from ongoing political violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term in office in July 2015 elections, despite the constitutional two-term limit.

Hundreds of people have been killed by police and armed opposition groups in the violence.

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The post Burundi’s Environment Minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru Assassinated appeared first on SIGNAL.

This post was syndicated from SIGNAL. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>SAN FRANCISCO, January 01, (THEWILL) – An unknown gunman has killed Emmanuel Niyonkuru, Burundi's Environment Minister in the conflict-ridden East African nation.

A police spokesman said on Sunday that the Minister was shot dead with a pistol in the early hours of Sunday .

The tragic incident happened in the streets of the Rohero neighbourhood in the capital, Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said on Twitter.

The police have arrested a woman over her alleged involvement in the assassination.

Burundi has been suffering from ongoing political violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term in office in July 2015 elections.

Hundreds of people have been killed by police and armed opposition groups in the violence.</s>Burundi’s environment minister was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura early Sunday, police said, the first assassination of its kind since the country was plunged into political turmoil in 2015.

Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, the country’s water, environment and planning minister, was killed shortly after midnight, according to a tweet sent by police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye.

The murder, the first of a serving government minister since Burundi sank into turmoil over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid for a third term in 2015, comes after months of relative calm.

“Minister of water and environment killed by a criminal with a gun on his way home to Rohero, around 00:45,” Nkurikiye wrote four hours after the incident.

He added that a woman had been arrested following the “assassination”.

Also on Twitter, Nkurunziza offered his condolences “to the family and all Burundians” vowing the crime would be punished.

At least 500 people have been killed and 300,000 have fled the country since unrest began in April 2015.

The post Gunman assassinates Burundi’s environment minister appeared first on Vanguard News.

This post was syndicated from Vanguard News. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>A gunman killed Burundi's environment minister early on Sunday, police said, the first murder of a senior government figure in nearly two years of political violence. Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, was attacked as he travelled home in the central African nation's capital Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said in a tweet.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>Got something awesome to share with the world? Click here to share Burundi Minister Shot Dead in Capital

 

 Police in Burundi say the country's environment minister was shot dead in the capital early Sunday. Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said in a tweet that Emmanuel Niyonkuru, who was 54, was killed in Bujumbura while on his way home. The shooting is …</s>Burundi’s environment minister has been shot dead while on his way home on New Year’s Eve.

Emmanuel Niyonkuru, 54, was killed at about 00:45 local time (22:45 GMT) by “a criminal with a gun”, a police spokesman tweeted.

Tweets from Pierre Nkurikiye said a woman who was with Mr Niyonkuru had been detained for questioning, following the “assassination”.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza said the crime would not go unpunished.

Hundreds of people, including high-ranking army officials, have been killed in unrest since President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term in 2015, a move which opponents said was unconstitutional. But this is the first time a serving government minister has been killed.

For months the country had been relatively calm. BBC News</s>Emmanuel Niyonkuru becomes first serving government minister to be killed since political instability began in 2015.

Burundi's Environment Minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru has been shot dead by unknown assailants in the capital Bujumbura, police said.

Niyonkuru, 54, the country's water, environment and planning minister, was "killed by a criminal with a gun on his way home to Rohero, around 00:45," according to a tweet sent by police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye. He added that a woman had been arrested following the "assassination".

The murder, the first of a serving government minister since Burundi sank into turmoil over President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in 2015, comes after months of relative calm.

Also on Twitter, Nkurunziza offered his condolences "to the family and all Burundians" vowing the crime would be punished.

At least 500 people have been killed and 300,000 have fled the country since unrest began in April 2015.</s>Burundi’s Environment Minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru was shot dead by an unidentified gunman on Sunday morning. The 54-year-old was reportedly on his way home in the capital of Bujumbura when he was attacked. Officials said that this was the first murder of a senior minister in almost twenty years of political violence in the country.

Police spokesperson Pierre Nkurikiye said they were questioning a woman who was with the minister when the incident took place. Nkurikiye said those responsible for the incident would not go unpunished. President Pierre Nkurunziza offered his condolences to the minister’s “family and all Burundians”.

Hundreds of people, including army officials, have been killed since Nkurunziza won a third term in 2015. Protestors claimed that his reign was unconstitutional and expressed fears that the violence in the country would get escalated under his reign. The region is still recovering from the atrocities committed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
A gunman shoots dead Burundi's environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru in the nation's capital, Bujumbura.