Death toll rises to nearly 90 in Burundi capital

Nearly 90 people were killed during Friday’s clashes in the Burundian capital, the army said on Saturday, the worst outbreak of violence in Burundi since a failed coup in May. Blasts and gunfire echoed around Bujumbura for most of Friday and residents said officials spent the day collecting bullet-riddled bodies from city streets. There was no fighting overnight and the capital’s streets were calm on Saturday. Army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza said gunmen had attacked three military sites in Bujumbura, kindling a day of clashes across the city. 

He said 79 attackers were killed and 45 others captured. Four police officers and four soldiers also died. “Sweep operations have finished now,” Baratuza said, adding that officials confiscated weapons and ammunition. Unrest in Burundi, which started in April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans for a third term in office, has unnerved a region still volatile two decades after the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Friday’s clashes were condemned by the United States, which like other Western powers fears the Central African nation could slide back into ethnic conflict. 

The U.N. Security Council was briefed on the developments in Burundi late on Friday. U.S. 

Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who is president of the council for December, said the 15-member body was ready to consider “further steps.”