Burundian retired army officer killed amid tension over presidency

A retired Burundian army colonel was shot dead and his son wounded in the latest attack in the capital, Bujumbura on Wednesday, police said.

The former officer, named Lucien Rufyiri, was shot as he sat in his car waiting for his gate to be opened in the Ngagara neighbourhood.

He becomes a victim of escalating violence between president Pierre Nkurunziza’s security forces and opponents who say his re-election for a third term in July was illegal.

A new round of peace talks was launched in the Tanzanian city of Arusha at the weekend.

“The victim was shot in the head while his son, who was opening for him, was slightly injured,” Moise Nkurunziza, deputy spokesman for the police, told Reuters.

More than 450 people have been killed in Burundi since April 2015 after Nkurunziza announced he was standing for a third term.