France seeks UN action:

Africa

France on Monday presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council aimed at toughening the international response to the violence in Burundi, where fears of Rwanda-style mass killings are rife.

The measure threatens targeted sanctions against Burundian leaders who incite attacks or hamper efforts to end the crisis that followed protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term.

“The escalating violence in Burundi has reached a very worrying stage, maybe a tipping point,” French Deputy Ambassador Alexis Lamek told reporters.

“We must face the reality: If we let the tensions escalate without doing anything, the whole country could explode,” he warned. Pierre

The draft text, obtained by AFP, calls on the government and all sides to “reject any kind of violence” and strongly condemns the killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and other rights violations in Burundi.

The council could vote on the draft in the coming days.

At an emergency council meeting called by France, Burundi’s Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe said the “country was calm” except for some pockets of Burundi’s capital Bujumbura where “small groups of criminals are active.”

“Burundi is not burning,” said