Burundi: 15 killed in coordinated attacks on military camps

Burundi’s army says 12 members of a group that attacked three military camps in a bid to steal weapons and free prisoners were killed.

Gunfire and explosions rocked the capital, frightening civilians who hid in their homes.

Fighting began at around 4.00 am (0600 GMT) when “heavily armed men” attacked a base at Ngagara in the north of the city and a military training college in the south, according to a senior military officer.

“After more than two hours of clashes, the army repulsed the southern attack, while virtually all the attackers were killed in Ngagara base,” the officer said.

“There are dozens of deaths among the attackers, and we also have losses,” he said, adding the situation would soon be brought “completely” under control. The attacks on the army base in Ngagara and the ISCAM Higher Institute of Military Training in Musaga were confirmed by 10 witnesses contacted by telephone. All spoke of heavy firing, including the sounds of artillery, lasting several hours.

The fighting is the heaviest since a failed coup in May, sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term which he later won in disputed elections in July.

“I am holed up in the corridor of my house with my wife and children,” said Eric, a resident of Musaga. “Pray for us because we will die!” 

A government spokesman confirmed the attacks on Twitter, referring to the gunmen as “Sindumuja”, meaning “I am not a slave”, a name sometimes used for the insurgents.

“Tonight the #Sindumuja tried to attack military camps but they failed,” Willy Nyamitwe, media advisor to the president, wrote early on Friday.