Burundi\u2019s government said Sunday it would not agree to the deployment of African Union (AU) peacekeepers, warning that they would be seen as \u201can invasion force.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement came a day after the 54-member bloc said it would send a 5,000-strong forced to halt spiralling violence in the tiny central African country as fears grow it is rapidly sliding towards civil war.<\/p>\n
It gave the government in Bujumbura a four-day deadline to agree to the offer, but warned it would send troops anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurundi is clear on the matter: it is not ready to accept an AU force on its territory,\u201d deputy presidential spokesman Jean-Claude Karerwa told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf AU troops came without the government\u2019s approval, it would be an invasion and occupation force, and the Burundi government would reserve the right to act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burundi has so far dismissed proposals for any peacekeeping force on its territory and Karerwa said any such move by the AU would have to be approved by the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Burundi government believes the AU resolution cannot be automatically applied and must first be endorsed by the UN Security Council,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The standoff comes as international alarm grows over soaring unrest in Burundi where at least 87 people were killed on December 11 in a crackdown by security forces after an attack on three military bases.<\/p>\n
Many of the dead were youths who were shot dead by the security forces.<\/p>\n
In a strongly-worded statement issued on Saturday, the AU said the bloc would \u201ctake additional measures\u201d to ensure the new force\u2019s deployment.<\/p>\n
It underlined its determination \u201cto take all appropriate measures against any party or actor\u2026 who would impede the implementation of the present decision\u201d.<\/p>\n
The announcement came two days after the bloc\u2019s Peace and Security Council met over the Burundi crisis and agreed it would not allow \u201canother genocide\u201d on African soil.<\/p>\n
AU rights investigators last week returned from a fact-finding mission to Burundi expressing \u201cgreat concern\u201d after witnessing some of the heaviest fighting in the troubled country for months.<\/p>\n
The AU team said it had reports of \u201carbitrary killings and targeted assassinations\u201d as well as arrests, detentions and torture. Their concerns have been widely echoed.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Burundi\u2019s government said Sunday it would not agree to the deployment of African Union (AU) peacekeepers, warning that they would be seen as \u201can invasion force.\u201d The announcement came a day after the 54-member bloc said it would send a 5,000-strong forced to halt spiralling violence in the tiny central African country as fears grow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":176111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n