12 insurgents killed in Burundi attack

Sound of gunfire echoed across capital as officials said assault on military camps had ‘failed’

Gunmen attacked military sites in Burundi’s capital yesterday and 12 of the assailants were killed while 20 were arrested after heavy fighting, the army said.

Soldiers said at least five of their number were also killed, but an official army spokesman said they were only wounded in the latest flareup in a nation Western powers fear may be sliding back into ethnic conflict.

The sound of firing echoed across the capital, Bujumbura, through yesterday after heavy gunfire and blasts erupted in the early hours. Residents said streets were empty and police were out in force at a time when people normally head to work.

But residents said yesterday’s flare-up was much more intense.

“Sindumuja [insurgents] tried to attack military camps but they failed,” presidential media adviser Willy Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter, describing the raids as “a diversion” to try to free prisoners.

“Situation is returning to normal as firearms are seized, many Sindumuja assailants killed or arrested,” he wrote.

Army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza told state radio 12 of the insurgents were killed and 20 were detained after trying to storm military bases to seize weapons.

He said five soldiers were wounded. “The situation has now normalised,” he added.

Earlier, a soldier who had spoken to colleagues inside a base in Bujumbura’s northern Ngagara district, said at least two soldiers were killed. An officer at sites in the south of the city said three soldiers were killed in those locations.

The soldiers asked not to be identified.

Flights cancelled

Kenya Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines all cancelled their flights to Burundi. The Kenyan carrier said there were no personnel to allow them to fly. But Nyamitwe said the airport was still open despite the cancellations.

Burundi’s political crisis led to the failed coup in May.

One of the generals behind that attempt said in July the group still aimed to topple the president. Other plotters were caught and are due to face trial in the town of Gitega from December 14.

A deputy presidential spokesman wrote on Twitter that the cabinet was meeting as scheduled on Monday and would discuss the 2016 budget, but not the idea of declaring a state of emergency.

He said the aim of the “armed gang” was to free prisoners.