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Failure on the part of the Burundi transitional government to condemn the increasing number of killings of civilians perpetrated by its armed forces amounts to acquiescence, says the human rights advocacy group, Amnesty International.
In a report issued on Monday, entitled "Punishing the Population - Reprisal Killings Escalate", the rights body documented the Burundi army’s deliberate killing of unarmed Hutu civilians in reprisal for military activity by Hutu-dominated rebel armed political movements.
"None of these killings are known to have been investigated, or even publicly condemned by state authorities," Amnesty reported.
It also documented human rights abuses by the rebel groups in "repeated killings of unarmed civilians in multiple ambushes on civilian transport", stating that "armed political groups are continuing to unlawfully kill those who fail to contribute financially to their organisation, suspected informants and captured soldiers".
"Government forces and armed political groups must take immediate actions to bring an end to unlawful killings. The transitional government of Burundi should strengthen state institutions in order to improve accountability, and end the impunity of government armed forces for gross human rights violations," amnesty said.
It also urged the UN Security Council to "express its deep concern" over the escalation in the army’s extrajudicial killings, and the "numerous human rights abuses" armed political groups have perpetrated since the beginning of 2002.
[See www.amnesty.org to access full report]
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
