11 January 2008
Bujumbura — Six members of one family were killed by two grenades blasts in Rutana yesterday night. Police investigations searching for those responsible for this crime are under way.
A surge of criminal activities at the beginning of this year has been noticed in some provinces, a signal that this year the numbers of people killed by violent crimes may continue to grow. The resumption of hostilities between the government of Burundi and the last rebel movement to sign a ceasefire deal, PALIPEHUTU-FNL, might exacerbate the situation.
Last year, independent sources reported that about 394 persons died in criminal activities in a period spanning from January to October 2007. The figures given by independent sources coincided with those that were advanced by the national police. The main causes of the surge in crime over the previous year were the PALIPEHUTU-FNL movement, the undisciplined elements of the police, and the demobilised combatants.
Two foreigners were killed last year, including a Chinese citizen who was killed in the heart of Bujumbura as he was about to pay his employees and a French aid worker whose killing has given rise to ethnic suspicion in Ruyigi as the police tries to carry out their investigations.
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