Explosions and bursts of
gunfire have rocked several neighborhoods of the Burundian capital,
Bujumbura, leaving at least one person dead as UN Security Council
delegates arrived in the East African country to put an end to months of
political instability.
On Thursday evening, security
forces shot and killed a young man in the northeastern Mutakura
neighborhood of Bujumbura following the explosion of a hand grenade in
the area. Another person sustained gunshot wounds in the same area.
Residents
said the sound of blasts and skirmishes could be heard across the
capital, namely in the central Bwiza district and the southern Musaga
neighborhood, between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (1630-1800 GMT).
The
developments came shortly after a Security Council delegation arrived in
Bujumbura to press government officials to engage in negotiations with
opposition figures, and agree to the deployment 5,000 peacekeepers in a
bid to put an end to the deadly violence that has beleaguered Burundi
since April last year.
Hundreds of people took to streets in
Bujumbura on Thursday to express their resentment over what they
described as meddling in Burundi's domestic affairs.
The protesters carried signs reading “Genocide Will Not Happen” and “Stop Interfering in Burundian Affairs” in English.
