Burundi's move to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) has turned the spotlight on months of political turmoil and violence that raised fears of \"genocide\" in a nation with a history of ethnic conflict.<\/p>\n
Here are some keys to understanding 18 months of crisis in the central African nation:<\/p>\n
In April 2015, President Pierre Nkurunziza, in office since 2005, announced his plan to run for a controversial third term, triggering protests which authorities banned before unleashing a bloody crackdown that left an estimated 80 people dead.<\/p>\n
In May, a botched military coup prompted further reprisals against anyone seen as opposing the government.<\/p>\n
Despite the protests, Nkurunziza was re-elected in July in polls boycotted by the opposition.<\/p>\n
The crisis continued however despite his victory and in September 2016 a report by United Nations rights experts said repression had become \"more systematic and is increasing.\"<\/p>\n
Human rights groups allege that over 1,000 people have been killed in the months of turmoil, while thousands more have been tortured, suffered sexual violence, disappeared or been illegally detained.<\/p>\n
The UN refugees agency (UNHCR) says more than 250,000 people have fled the country.<\/p>\n
Opponents say Nkurunziza's third term violates the constitution as well as the Arusha accords that ended Burundi's civil war. During the 1993-2006 conflict, which killed 300,000 people, Nkurunziza led Hutu rebels fighting the Tutsi-dominated army.<\/p>\n
Hutus make up around 85 percent of Burundi's 11 million people, with Tutsis being the remainder.<\/p>\n
There are now concerns of a return to Hutu-Tutsi violence and fears for stability in a region where violence often spills across borders.<\/p>\n
Burundi's crisis has already hurt ties with Rwanda, which Bujumbura accuses of supporting rebels.<\/p>\n
Many are wary of using the word \"genocide\" yet it repeatedly crops up in analyses of Burundi's crisis.<\/p>\n
The international community remains traumatised by its failure to prevent the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda -- which the UN says left 800,000 mostly Tutsis dead -- and involved the same ethnic groups as in Burundi.<\/p>\n
Perhaps as a result, there have been repeated pleas from the UN and African Union to avert genocide in Burundi.<\/p>\n
\"Given the country's history, the danger of the crime of genocide also looms large,\" warned the recent UN report.<\/p>\n
While Tutsis were among the most vocal critics of Nkurunziza's third-term bid, the current crisis remains primarily political, with the anti-Nkurunziza alliance cutting across ethnic lines. However, public discourse has taken on an increasingly ethnic tone.<\/p>\n
In August, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, raised concerns over a statement by Burundi's National Assembly president, Pascal Nyabenda, who claimed the Rwandan genocide was a \"fabrication of the international community\".<\/p>\n
Dieng said the statement has \"the potential to inflame ethnic tensions, both within Burundi and outside its borders.\"<\/p>\n
In April 2016, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she was conducting a \"preliminary examination\" of the situation in Burundi -- the first step towards a full investigation and possible prosecutions -- looking into allegations including murder, torture, rape and forced disappearances.<\/p>\n
Burundi responded by voting to leave the ICC saying there was a \"plot to do harm to Burundi\".<\/p>\n
Bujumbura also barred the three UN rights experts responsible for the damning September report and suspended co-operation with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), accusing it of \"complicity\" in the \"dishonest report\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Burundi's move to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) has turned the spotlight on months of political turmoil and violence that raised fears of \"genocide\" in a nation with a history of ethnic conflict. Here are some keys to understanding 18 months of crisis in the central African nation: - How did Burundi's crisis begin? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":66422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[],"ji_location":[2153],"class_list":["post-29827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","ji_location-burundi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n