Thousands attend funeral of Burundi Oppn leader

Thousands of people in Burundi’s capital today attended the funeral of an opposition leader killed in a drive-by shooting.

Young people singing patriotic songs carried the coffin of politician <g data-gr-id="18">Zedi</g> Feruzi, stopping traffic as they marched for 90 minutes through Bujumbura, the capital, to a Muslim cemetery. Feruzi and a <g data-gr-id="19">body guard</g> were last Saturday night in a drive-by shooting. Feruzi’s killing has caused many of Burundi’s opposition figures to go into hiding, saying that those who oppose President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term are not safe.

Burundi has been rocked by four weeks of street protests, in which at least 20 have died, that started after it was announced Nkurunziza will stand for re-election on June 26. The protests gave rise to an attempted coup on May <g data-gr-id="15">13</g> but army forces loyal to Nkurunziza put down the coup within 48 hours.