VOX VIDEOS BURUNDI CONFLICT PRO

Hutu-Tutsi violence in Burundi would surely inflame animosities in neighboring Rwanda and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Hutus and Tutsis also endure an uneasy coexistence “There is a very great risk of ethnic conflict.”Įthnic conflict could destabilize the region “Because the ruling party is really using the last card they have to use – to go back to ethnic confrontation.

“The rules in this deadly game now can change so easily,” Claver said. This time, as the President gets more desperate, the situation can evolve quickly, Nsengiyumva Pierre Claver, a former member of an EU electoral monitoring team, told CNN by phone from Bujumbura. was driven by hatred between Hutus and Tutsis. The country’s civil war, which lasted from 1993 until 2003. Over 50,000 people flee violence in Burundiīut ethnic tension lies close to the surface in Burundi. It boils down to the determination of President Pierre Nkurunziza to hold onto power and the determination of protesters to prevent his candidacy. The current tension seems on its face to revolve around politics rather than ethnicity. So here are five reasons to care about what is happening today in Burundi: At least 3 killed.- Maud Jullien May 7, 2015

VOX VIDEOS BURUNDI CONFLICT PRO

Grenades allegedly thrown by pro gov civilians and revenge attacks by protestors. The region would grow poorer.Īnd perhaps most dire of all: Much of the world could be left with profound regret for the lives that could have been saved. Stability in the region could disintegrate. Depending on what happens, the flows of refugees, already alarming, could increase. The positions of the two sides seem beyond compromise. In that genocide, Hutu extremists slaughtered Tutsis and moderate Hutus, often with machetes.īurundi’s ethnic makeup, with a Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority, is similar to Rwanda’s.Īs the President seeks a third term, despite a two-term limit specified by the agreement that ended Burundi’s own ethnic civil war, opponents have taken to the streets. But the direst possibility – unlikely but conceivable – is an ethnic slaughter like the one that took place in the neighboring country of Rwanda in 1994, in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. The worst fear lurks in the words no one wants to say: Another Rwanda. So why is it suddenly climbing the international news agenda?īecause it could have an impact far beyond its size. Its population, 10.4 million, is less than one-third that of Tokyo. Embassy in Burundi to the African Union to UNICEF, issued a flurry of statements Wednesday expressing concern and urging Burundians, particularly the current government, to turn away from violence.Īnd Jan Egeland, the United Nations’ former top humanitarian official, said Wednesday that international action was needed to avoid a catastrophe.īurundi is a tiny central African country – smaller than Maryland. International organizations, from the U.S.

Vox videos burundi conflict