The international war crimes court announced yesterday that it will open a preliminary investigation into reports of imprisonment and violence in Burundi. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, estimated in her statement that 430 persons were reportedly killed, at least 3,400 people have been arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
The court will be investigating: ‘Acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as cases of enforced disappearances.’
The investigation was announced the day after the Minister for Human Rights Martin Nivyabandi, was almost killed by a grenade while coming out of church. On Monday, Tutsi general, and security advisor to the vice president, was gunned down in Burundi with his wife while dropping their child at school. The president, Pierre Nkurunziza offered his condolences on Twitter.