International

Burundi okays UN police deployment

Published

8 years ago

April 4, 2016

The foreign affairs minister of Burundi has informed Reuters that his government has accepted the United Nations Security Councils resolution to send police to his country to quell months of political tension.

The resolution to send troops to a country where violence threatens to spiral into ethnic conflict after President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in office last April was reached after a 15-member council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution asking U.N. Secretary-General to offer options for police deployment to Burundi.

“This U.N. resolution is fine for us since it takes into account everything we have been saying,” Alain Nyamitwe, Burundi’s foreign minister, told Reuters.

“We have always been open to experts but never to sending of peacekeeping troops in Burundi,” he said, adding “a few” U.N. police could help stabilise the country.

On the other hand, Burundi’s opposition leader Leonce Ngendakumana, chairman of the opposition FRODEBU party, criticised the resolution for failing to call for the deployment of peacekeepers.

“That U.N. resolution brings nothings to us,” he told Reuters. “We don’t want U.N. police but U.N. peacekeepers who would prevent Burundi from sliding into another civil war.

“The opposition wants the peacekeepers to be deployed to disarm the different armed groups including the militia allied to the ruling CNDD FDD party, known as “Imbonerakure”, Ngendakumana said.

“We need forces capable of restoring our army,” he said, citing last month’s assassination of a senior army officer and rising cases of desertion by troops.” He added.

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