UN's Ban condemns Burundi general's assassination

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the assassination of a Tutsi general who was killed along with his wife in Burundi's capital today.
General Athanase Kararuza, a security advisor to one of Burundi's vice presidents, and his wife died in a rocket and grenade attack as they were dropping off their daughter at school in Bujumbura.
The daughter survived the attack, according to a family member.
"The assassination of Brigadier General Kararuza comes in the wake of several instances of politically-motivated assassination attempts in Burundi over recent weeks," Ban said.
Yesterday, Burundi's minister of human rights, social affairs and gender Martin Nivyabandi, survived a grenade attack.

"All such acts of violence serve no purpose other than to worsen the already volatile situation in Burundi," said Ban.

The UN chief called on "all political leaders, including those in exile, to firmly renounce the use of violence in pursuit of political agendas and commit to an inclusive and genuine dialogue."
He called for a "rigorous and prompt investigation" of the attacks.
Burundi has been sliding deeper into violence since President Pierre Nkurunziza decided a year ago to run for a new term, which he went on to win in elections that UN observers said were not credible.
About 500 people have been killed and more than 270,000 have fled across the border amid fears the violence could lead to mass atrocities, similar to those that convulsed Rwanda in 1994.

Ban earlier this month described the situation in Burundi as "alarmingly precarious" in a report to the Security Council that proposed deploying a UN police mission there.
The council has yet to decide on the size and mandate of such a mission, but the Bujumbura government has said it will accept no more than 20 unarmed police experts.