Defence Ministry calls for report on looting incident

The Ministry of Defence has called on the inter-ministerial commission charged with the management of “protection camps for displaced people” - as it termed the regroupment camps - to open an urgent investigation into Sunday’s raid on Kivumu camp in the Muyira zone of Bujumbura Rural. The armed forces are alleged to have looted humanitarian goods from the camp stores, as well as the personal property of camp dwellers. The Ministry of the Interior has admitted on Burundian radio that some soldiers were involved in looting, Bujumbura residents have reported. The Kivumu incident should be clarified “in the interest of everybody and to ensure that justice is done,” ABP news agency on Wednesday quoted a defence ministry statement as saying. The raid was aimed at apprehending “genocidal terrorists” who used Kivumu camp as a den to plan attacks, replenish supplies and seek refuge from pursuing army units, the statement claimed.