Systematic roundups spread fear in Burundi

TIMESLIVE

Burundi's crisis was triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial decision in April last year to run for a third term which he went on to win in a July election. File photo
Image by: EVRARD NGENDAKUMANA / REUTERS

Around a hundred people were arrested in the capital of Burundi in the latest of a series of roundups by security forces targeting opposition strongholds, according to officials and witnesses.

Freddy Mbonimpa, mayor of Bujumbura, told AFP the operations were necessary to "control and manage the movement of the people," but residents said the result was widespread fear.

Friday's round-up in Musaga -- a southern neighbourhood that has seen regular anti-government protests since Burundi's crisis began over a year ago -- was characteristic of the security sweeps of recent weeks.

Dozens of police and soldiers went door-to-door, street-by-street, compiling lists of residents and visitors and taking many away for questioning, mostly young men, according to witnesses.

"They took all the men, young people and even students in uniforms going to school", said a female resident of Musaga who said her husband and two sons were taken away.

"We live in terror of seeing our people leave and never return, because these mass arrests take place almost every day," she said.

In a similar operation, also on Friday morning, dozens of men and young people were arrested in Mugamba, a restive town south of the capital, witnesses said.

On Wednesday in Bujumbura security forces again arrested more than 100 people. Most were released soon afterwards but at least four people according to police and a dozen according to witnesses have not been seen since.

While residents fear, officials insist everything is normal.

"These are normal security operations," said mayor Mbonimpa. "We check if the household lists are updated regularly, then people are released quickly, after a warning."

Burundi's crisis was triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial decision in April last year to run for a third term which he went on to win in a July election.

Over 400 people have been killed, more than 240,000 have left the country and violent attacks have become a daily routine in the months since, raising fears of a return to the civil war fought between 1993-2006.

Nkurunziza has faced down months of protest and a failed coup as well as international pressure, including economic sanctions and a threat to send peacekeepers to his country.