Government condemns “terrorist” plane attack

A passenger plane belonging to the Belgian airline Sabena was shot at as it prepared to land at Bujumbura airport, at about 2am (local time) on Tuesday morning, UN sources in the Burundi capital told IRIN. “The incident took place about five kilometres from Bujumbura city,” the official said. A flight attendant and a passenger were “slightly hurt” in the incident, according to IRIN’s sources. Normal operations continued throughout Tuesday at the airport, despite earlier reports that it had been closed, the sources said. Burundi army spokesman Colonel Longin Minani called the attack a “terrorist action”, which should be condemned in the “strongest terms” by the international community. Minani blamed Burundi rebel groups for the incident. “It is very clear that they were not targeting the military, but rather, civilians,” he added. The Sabena flight, from Brussels to Nairobi via Bujumbura, could not continue its journey and about 80 passengers were booked into a local hotel after the attack, Minani told IRIN. Sabena resumed direct flights to Bujumbura at the end of October after a four-year suspension because of the civil war. The country’s transport minister, Cyprien Mbonigaba, said then that the resumption was “an encouraging sign for the Burundi government.” The Burundi government on Tuesday condemned the attack. The Burundi news agency, ABP, on Tuesday quoted a communique from the government as saying that investigations launched immediately after the incident indicated that the attack was perpetrated by rebels waiting in ambush, seeking publicity. ABP news agency quoted the government spokesman, Luc Rukingama, as saying that the security forces had reacted immediately and neutralised the assailants. “The government strongly condemns this attempt against national and international interests and calls upon all partners to do all they can to force these terrorists to stop their blind violence and join the open peaceful route resolving the Burundi conflict,” he said. Minani told IRIN on Tuesday evening that there were “the impact marks of 13 bullets” on the plane. “They [assailants] might have used an R-4, a rifle which comes from South Africa, or an AK-47,” he said. The two people injured did not sustain their injuries from bullets but most likely from flying debris, he added.