Friday 10 July 2015

Update on the security situation in Burundi

I haven't written about the security situation in Burundi for a while.  There are reports today of heavy weaponry being used on the outskirts of Kibira forest, near the Rwandan border (French here, English here).  Since the failed coup in May there have been frequent grenade and gun attacks, although not full conflict, so today's news is another unwelcome stage in the unrest.

The government has a new website with more frequent updates and commentary, describing recent infrastructure projects among other things.  The projects would probably benefit the economy, but are dwindling in importance compared with the security situation.  The cost of recent civil conflict in the Great Lakes region has probably been hundreds of billions of US dollars, and outbreaks often result in tens of thousands to millions of deaths (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

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