Government appeals for reconstruction aid

In a letter to the President of the UN Security Council, Burundi’s President of the National Assembly Leonce Ngendakumana appealed for international assistance to augment the country’s peace process. The 19 January letter argued, “the political initiatives and expectations will fall short of expectations” unless there is effective support “to redress the socio-economic situation and reconstruct the country.” The suffering and impoverishment “of our people cannot be allowed to continue for much longer,” the statement said. Progress in the peace process “must be accompanied by concrete measures to relieve the suffering of the Burundian people.”