Burundi president's spokesman escapes assassination bid

A top advisor to Burundi's president and the most public face of the government, Willy Nyamitwe, has escaped an assassination attempt in the capital Bujumbura which left one of his bodyguards dead, officials said today.
"Thank God, Willy Nyamitwe narrowly escaped an attack..." tweeted Burundi's UN ambassador Albert Shingiro.
A presidential official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Nyamitwe was slightly wounded on his arm and that another bodyguard was injured in the attack Monday night.
The online news website Ikiriho, which is close to government, said Nyamitwe was attacked while returning to his home in the western suburb of Kajaga.

"I thank those who wish me a speedy recovery. I am doing well but (am) saddened by the death of a best friend, the policeman Gasongo," Nyamitwe tweeted.
His brother Alain Aime Nyamitwe, Burundi's foreign minister, slammed the attempt as "a new, pointless effort to disturb republican institutions.