Deadly attack in run-up to vote in Burundi

BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Twenty-six people were killed and seven others wounded in an attack by an unidentified “terrorist group” in rural Burundi, the country’s security minister said Saturday. The BBC says the attack could be related to the referendum:

"It is not known who carried out the attacks, but some are blaming exiled opposition groups who are based outside Burundi and have vowed to disrupt the 17 May referendum. He said he was eligible for a third term in 2015 because lawmakers, not the general population, chose him for his first term. BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Burundi’s security minister says 26 people are dead and seven others wounded after an overnight attack blamed on a “terrorist group.”

Alain Guillaume Bunyoni told reporters that 24 people were killed in their homes Friday night and two others died of their wounds at a local hospital. The attack took place in the village of Ruhagarika in Cibitoke province, located in the northwest of the small East African country. “My family is dead and to make matters worse, the army did nothing to save them even when they were not far from here.”

A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to a reporter, said four of the families targeted were headed by people he called “police agents.”

“(The attackers) said when leaving, ’Where are those you trust to rescue you?” he said. "A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to a reporter, said four of the families targeted were headed by people he called 'police agents.' What one can ask is this: Do we have to see innocent people killed whenever elections are near in Burundi?” said Gerard Hakizimana, leader of a pro-democracy civic group known as Folucon F.

President Pierre Nkuruniza, on Twitter, urged unity in the East African nation and said those who carried out the attack would be pursued and punished.
26 people are killed in Cibitoke Province, Burundi. The country's security minister attributes the attack on civilians in their houses to an unnamed "terrorist group".