Burial held for Burundian General killed by gunmen

A funeral service was on Saturday held in Bujumbura for the Burundian general who was killed last Monday.

General Athanase Kararuza, together with his wife were killed by unidentified gunmen when dropping off his daughter at school on Monday morning.

His daughter later died of her injuries at the hospital.

General Kararuza, a Tutsi, was recently appointed an adviser to Burundi’s first vice president.

He had also served as a deputy commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic between 2013 and late 2015.

Several high ranking Burundian officials as well as friends of the general’s daughter, Gloria, were present at the funeral but President Pierre Nkurunziza was absent.

The general together with his wife and daughter were buried after the service.

HAPPENING NOW #Burundi Lycée du St-Esprit Chapel: Burial of Brig General & Mrs. Kararuza & their daughter, Daniella pic.twitter.com/vvBrs5vrxj

— iBurundi (@iburundi) April 30, 2016

The attack on General Kararuza by unidentified assailants, comes amid an escalation of targeted killings in Burundi since March.

Another senior Burundian army officer was assassinated in the Defence Ministry’s compound in March.

Burundi was plunged into a crisis in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term in office.

The violence has claimed more than 500 lives and forced more than 270,000 people to leave the country.

According to the UNHCR, several Burundians continue to cross over the border into Tanzania daily, a year after the violence erupted.

AFP