BURUNDI: SUMMARY EXECUTIONS BY ARMY, POLICE
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(Nairobi, February 12, 2015) – The Burundian National Defense Force and police committed at least 47 extrajudicial executions between December 30, 2014, and January 3, 2015, following a clash with an armed group in the northwestern province of Cibitoke, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed members of the ruling party’s youth league also participated in the killings.
The Burundian security forces have a responsibility to defend citizens against violence, but that cannot mean murdering those they have detained,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It appears that members of the military and police made no effort to arrest most of the men who surrendered, shooting them dead instead.”
The killings in Cibitoke are part of a broader pattern of extrajudicial executions by Burundian security forces and members of the ruling party’s youth league, going back several years. The victims have included many civilians, as well as members of armed groups and other suspected opponents. The executions in Cibitoke are one of the largest incidents of this kind in recent years.
The Burundian security forces have a responsibility to defend citizens against violence, but that cannot mean murdering those they have detained,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It appears that members of the military and police made no effort to arrest most of the men who surrendered, shooting them dead instead.”
The killings in Cibitoke are part of a broader pattern of extrajudicial executions by Burundian security forces and members of the ruling party’s youth league, going back several years. The victims have included many civilians, as well as members of armed groups and other suspected opponents. The executions in Cibitoke are one of the largest incidents of this kind in recent years.
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