Burundi: several dead in Bujumbura after grenade attacks
View of Bujumbura, Burundi (illustrative image).
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Bujumbura was hit by several simultaneous grenade attacks early Tuesday evening, May 25, which targeted three busy bus stops and sowed panic in a city that had not seen such attacks for years.
The sources speak of two to seven victims and dozens of injured.
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These explosions took place in a period of five minutes on an axis that goes from the north to the south of the former capital of Burundi.
The first at the Cotebu bus stop in the Ngagara district, further north.
A second took place at that of the Permanence between the districts of Bwiza and Buyenzi, and finally two other explosions a little further south, near the Musaga bus stop in the city center.
Rush hour attacks and panic scenes
"
These terrorists wanted to kill the maximum number of victims
" because they threw their grenades around 7 pm local time.
"
A rush hour in Bujumbura,
" said a security source.
The toll is very heavy.
"
Two dead and wounded,
" according to a provisional report from the Ministry of Public Security.
Witnesses and security sources speak of at least 7 dead and more than 80 injured, some in very serious condition.
It had been a long time since the city of Bujumbura had experienced such an outbreak of violence.
People seized with panic were running in all directions, buses by the dozen took one-way lanes to flee as quickly as possible.
Witnesses describe scenes of widespread panic which lasted for a long time.
Attacks ahead of security summit in Central Africa
The security forces immediately deployed hundreds of men in the streets and have already made dozens of official arrests for investigation.
Sources believe the attacks were meant to show that peace and security do not reign as Bujumbura hosts a meeting of a UN committee responsible for security issues in Central Africa.
This is the first major meeting organized by Burundi since the 2015 crisis.
►Also read: Burundi: twelve people killed in a new attack in the center of the country
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Burundi
Terrorism