Burundi teens disappear from robot comp
WASHINGTON: US police are searching for six African teenagers who were reported missing from an international robotics competition in Washington. Two of them were said to have been seen crossing into Canada, law enforcement officials said.
Police officials here confirmed that two members of the robotics team from Burundi, Don Ingabire, 16, and Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, were seen entering Canada, but their destination and current location remained unknown.
It was unclear where the remaining team members were. They were identified as Aristide Irambona, 18; Nice Munezero, 17; Kevin Sabumukiza, 17; and Richard Irakoze, 18.
The six teenagers were last seen in Washington on Tuesday night near the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, where the robotics competition took place.
The team’s mentor, Canesius Bindaba, reported their disappearance after he returned to the dormitories where they were staying, assuming the teenagers had taken a different shuttle bus after the closing ceremony.
It appears the students left of their own accord, event officials said in a statement. Their dorm keys were left in their mentor’s bag and they took their clothes from their rooms.
No foul play is suspected, said Aquita Brown, a spokeswoman for the police department.
The Burundi Embassy in Washington said in an email that officials there had not known there was a team from their country in the US until after the teenagers were reported missing.
In June, the State Department issued a travel warning for Americans going to Burundi, located between Rwanda and Tanzania, citing “political tensions, political and criminal violence, and the potential for civil unrest”. The warning took note of a tenuous political situation, and reported ambushes and kidnappings.
More than 325,000 Burundians have fled the country since 2015, mostly to Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Human Rights Watch.
The First Global competition made international headlines after the all-girl team from Afghanistan struggled to get visas to attend the event, advertised as an international robotics Olympics. Students from more than 150 countries participated in the competition, organisers said.
“First Global is always concerned about the safety of our students,” said Jose Escotto, the organisation’s communications director.
The group said it had advised students not to leave the dorms or Constitution Hall without a mentor.