Burundian army general shot dead in capital

Unknown gunmen on Monday killed Brigadier General Athanase Kararuza, his wife and one of his guards in the capital Bujumbura, the army spokesman told a press conference.

"Unidentified gunmen ambushed the car of Brigadier General Athanase Kararuza a few yards from his home at Gishosha neighborhood at about 07:00 a,m, as he was going to work," Burundian Army Spokesman Colonel Gaspard Baratuza said in a statement.

During the ambush, three others, including the General's daughter and his driver were also seriously injured, added the spokesman.

Kararuza recently served as the deputy-commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

"Those who assassinated General Kararuza are intending to destroy the cohesion of army members that they were enjoying since the integration of the Burundian defense forces in 2005," said Baratuza.

Kararuza, who is also a senior adviser of security at the Burundian first vice-president's office, is the fifth senior Burundian army officer killed in five weeks in the capital.

Source: XINHUA