A Timeline of Events in Burundi (Part 7)

[mchambawima1]

• June 29: Burundi goes to the polls in parliamentary election, and at least in Bujumbura, turn out is somewhat low due to the opposition boycott and scattered attacks on polling stations.
• June 29: The State Department releases a statement expressing disappointment that the elections went ahead.
• June 30: The number of refugees reaches 144,000.
• June 30: The government announces it has finished counting votes, but does not immediately announce the results.
• June 30: A subsidiary of German steel company ThyssenKrupp buys the rights to Burundi’s rare earth minerals.
• July 1: In a clash in Bujumbura’s Cibitoke neighborhood, six are killed. One soldier died in the attack. Following a grenade attack on soldiers patrolling the neighborhood, soldiers killed five people in nearby houses. Three of them were a middle-aged father and his two teenage sons. Seven are injuredin a separate grenade attack in Bujumbura.
• July 1: UNHCR announces it expects Burundian refugee numbers to reach between 250,000 and 500,000 due to the upcoming election.
• July 2: The UN declares that Burundi’s parliamentary elections were not free and fair.
• July 2: The State Department issues a statement urging further dialogue in Burundi. It also announces that it will suspend various forms of security assistance. This includes peacekeeping training, though the statement notes that the Burundian army has generally behaved humanely at protests.
• July 4: UNICEF releases a statement stressing the suffering of children in Burundi’s current crisis.
• July 5: The Burundian government rejects Abdoulaye Bathily as mediator, blaming him for the release of a UN report critical of the parliamentary elections.
• July 6: General Leonard Ngendakumana, a leader of the earlier failed coup attempt, states that force is the only way to oust Nkurunziza and he is working to organize and armed challenge to his government.
• July 6: EAC leaders meet in Dar Es Salaam, but Nkurunziza fails to attend,sending Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe in his place. EAC asks Burundi to delay the polls, scheduled for July 15th, by two weeks, to form a government of national unity, and disarm all armed groups.
• July 7: Election results are finally announced, with the CNDD-FDD winning 77 out of 100 Parliamentary seats.
• July 8: The US ambassador at-large for war crimes Stephen Rapp says that those in Burundi responsible for violence could face prosecution.
• July 9: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid bin Ra’adtells the UNSC that an explosion of violence could happen soon.
• July 9: The AU releases a statement reiterating its support of dialogue in Burundi.
• July 10: The government holds a conference to distribute the 21 seats it (or its allies) did not win in parliamentary elections because the candidate list presented by the opposition did not meet constitutional diversity requirements. The opposition boycotts the conference, so the government lets about half of the opposition candidates keep their seats, and distributes the rest to CNDD-FDD members.
• July 10: A large group of gunman, reportedly composed of several hundred men, clash with the army in Kayanza Province a few miles from the Rwandan border.
• July 10: The State Department releases a statement condemning the violence in Kayanza.
• July 11: The army and gunmen again clash in northern Burundi, but this time in Cibitoke Province. The army claims it killed twelve rebels, while rebel General Leonard Ngendakumana claims his forces took part in the fightingand that they inflicted losses on the army.
• July 11: During overnight unrest in Bujumbura, at least one person is shot dead by police following several grenade attacks.
• July 11: Following calls by EAC, Burundi postpones the Presidential election to July 21st.
• July 12: The governor of Cibitoke Province claims the army has captured scores of rebels and killed some others.
• July 12: FRODEBU declares it will not take part in Presidential elections.
• July 13: Burundi’s military states that during the clashes in Kayanza and Cibitoke, the army killed 31 rebels and captured 170.
• July 13: A government spokesperson announces Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has taken over as the EAC’s mediator and will fly to Burundi Tuesday.
• July 13: The East African Civil Society Organizations’ Forum and a group of Burundian lawyers file a lawsuit that challenges the legality of President Pierre Nkurunziza’s attempt to win a third term.
• July 14: Museveni arrives in Burundi and begins mediating talks between the government and opposition.
• July 15: Museveni urges Burundians to put aside sectarian differences before departing the country without presiding over a deal between the government and opposition. Ugandan Defense Minister Crispus Kiyonga will arrive on the 16th to lead negotiations.
• July 16: The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights releases a statement by a group of experts warning about the potential for mass atrocities and recommending the Security Council take action.
• July 16: Vital Nshimirimana, the chief executive officer of the Forum for Strengthening the Civil Society, says Nkurunziza’s government has demonstrated bad faith in the ongoing peace talks.
• July 17: Burundi’s government confirms elections will be held on July 21stdespite calls for delays.
• July 17: Nkurunziza promises to deliver “five more years of peace” if he wins a third term.
• July 18: The government and opposition launch a new round of negotiations.
• July 19: The government fails to attend scheduled negotiations, and also failed to explain their absence. Crispus Kiyonga puts the talks on hold.
• July 20: Two people die in overnight violence. One is a policeman, and the other is an MSD activist found in the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Bujumbura.
• July 20: Doctors Without Borders releases a statement detailing howNyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania is struggling to deal with the influx of Burundian refugees. The camp was initially designed to hold 50,000 people, but now holds 78,000 Burundians and 64,000 Congolese.
• July 21: The Presidential election takes place.
• July 21: The State Department releases a statement arguing the election lack credibility.
• July 21: UNSG Ban Ki-moon calls for restraint from all sides
• July 22: Presidential spokesperson Willy Nyamitwe says Burundi should be congratulated for holding the election, and that some countries do not even hold elections.
• July 22: Foreign Minister Alain-Aime Nyamitwe criticizes Rwanda for sheltering rebel generals involved in the coup.
• July 22: Agathon Rwasa calls for a unity government and new elections within a year.
• July 22: Emmanuel Ndereyimana, an FNL member, is shot dead by attackersbelieved to be Imbonerakure in Kinama, Bujumbura.
• July 22: Amnesty International releases a report detailing police brutality in Burundi.
• July 23: US Ambassador to Burundi Dawn Liberi said the US would review its aid to Burundi over the next two months.
• July 23: In a statement, UNSG Ban Ki-moon calls the Presidential election “broadly peaceful” and recommends that the winner should form a unity government.

 

[cyberspace]

• June 29: Burundi goes to the polls in parliamentary election, and at least in Bujumbura, turn out is somewhat low due to the opposition boycott and scattered attacks on polling stations.
• June 29: The State Department releases a statement expressing disappointment that the elections went ahead.
• June 30: The number of refugees reaches 144,000.
• June 30: The government announces it has finished counting votes, but does not immediately announce the results.
• June 30: A subsidiary of German steel company ThyssenKrupp buys the rights to Burundi’s rare earth minerals.
• July 1: In a clash in Bujumbura’s Cibitoke neighborhood, six are killed. One soldier died in the attack. Following a grenade attack on soldiers patrolling the neighborhood, soldiers killed five people in nearby houses. Three of them were a middle-aged father and his two teenage sons. Seven are injuredin a separate grenade attack in Bujumbura.
• July 1: UNHCR announces it expects Burundian refugee numbers to reach between 250,000 and 500,000 due to the upcoming election.
• July 2: The UN declares that Burundi’s parliamentary elections were not free and fair.
• July 2: The State Department issues a statement urging further dialogue in Burundi. It also announces that it will suspend various forms of security assistance. This includes peacekeeping training, though the statement notes that the Burundian army has generally behaved humanely at protests.
• July 4: UNICEF releases a statement stressing the suffering of children in Burundi’s current crisis.
• July 5: The Burundian government rejects Abdoulaye Bathily as mediator, blaming him for the release of a UN report critical of the parliamentary elections.
• July 6: General Leonard Ngendakumana, a leader of the earlier failed coup attempt, states that force is the only way to oust Nkurunziza and he is working to organize and armed challenge to his government.
• July 6: EAC leaders meet in Dar Es Salaam, but Nkurunziza fails to attend,sending Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe in his place. EAC asks Burundi to delay the polls, scheduled for July 15th, by two weeks, to form a government of national unity, and disarm all armed groups.
• July 7: Election results are finally announced, with the CNDD-FDD winning 77 out of 100 Parliamentary seats.
• July 8: The US ambassador at-large for war crimes Stephen Rapp says that those in Burundi responsible for violence could face prosecution.
• July 9: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid bin Ra’adtells the UNSC that an explosion of violence could happen soon.
• July 9: The AU releases a statement reiterating its support of dialogue in Burundi.
• July 10: The government holds a conference to distribute the 21 seats it (or its allies) did not win in parliamentary elections because the candidate list presented by the opposition did not meet constitutional diversity requirements. The opposition boycotts the conference, so the government lets about half of the opposition candidates keep their seats, and distributes the rest to CNDD-FDD members.
• July 10: A large group of gunman, reportedly composed of several hundred men, clash with the army in Kayanza Province a few miles from the Rwandan border.
• July 10: The State Department releases a statement condemning the violence in Kayanza.
• July 11: The army and gunmen again clash in northern Burundi, but this time in Cibitoke Province. The army claims it killed twelve rebels, while rebel General Leonard Ngendakumana claims his forces took part in the fightingand that they inflicted losses on the army.
• July 11: During overnight unrest in Bujumbura, at least one person is shot dead by police following several grenade attacks.
• July 11: Following calls by EAC, Burundi postpones the Presidential election to July 21st.
• July 12: The governor of Cibitoke Province claims the army has captured scores of rebels and killed some others.
• July 12: FRODEBU declares it will not take part in Presidential elections.
• July 13: Burundi’s military states that during the clashes in Kayanza and Cibitoke, the army killed 31 rebels and captured 170.
• July 13: A government spokesperson announces Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has taken over as the EAC’s mediator and will fly to Burundi Tuesday.
• July 13: The East African Civil Society Organizations’ Forum and a group of Burundian lawyers file a lawsuit that challenges the legality of President Pierre Nkurunziza’s attempt to win a third term.
• July 14: Museveni arrives in Burundi and begins mediating talks between the government and opposition.
• July 15: Museveni urges Burundians to put aside sectarian differences before departing the country without presiding over a deal between the government and opposition. Ugandan Defense Minister Crispus Kiyonga will arrive on the 16th to lead negotiations.
• July 16: The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights releases a statement by a group of experts warning about the potential for mass atrocities and recommending the Security Council take action.
• July 16: Vital Nshimirimana, the chief executive officer of the Forum for Strengthening the Civil Society, says Nkurunziza’s government has demonstrated bad faith in the ongoing peace talks.
• July 17: Burundi’s government confirms elections will be held on July 21stdespite calls for delays.
• July 17: Nkurunziza promises to deliver “five more years of peace” if he wins a third term.
• July 18: The government and opposition launch a new round of negotiations.
• July 19: The government fails to attend scheduled negotiations, and also failed to explain their absence. Crispus Kiyonga puts the talks on hold.
• July 20: Two people die in overnight violence. One is a policeman, and the other is an MSD activist found in the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Bujumbura.
• July 20: Doctors Without Borders releases a statement detailing howNyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania is struggling to deal with the influx of Burundian refugees. The camp was initially designed to hold 50,000 people, but now holds 78,000 Burundians and 64,000 Congolese.
• July 21: The Presidential election takes place.
• July 21: The State Department releases a statement arguing the election lack credibility.
• July 21: UNSG Ban Ki-moon calls for restraint from all sides
• July 22: Presidential spokesperson Willy Nyamitwe says Burundi should be congratulated for holding the election, and that some countries do not even hold elections.
• July 22: Foreign Minister Alain-Aime Nyamitwe criticizes Rwanda for sheltering rebel generals involved in the coup.
• July 22: Agathon Rwasa calls for a unity government and new elections within a year.
• July 22: Emmanuel Ndereyimana, an FNL member, is shot dead by attackersbelieved to be Imbonerakure in Kinama, Bujumbura.
• July 22: Amnesty International releases a report detailing police brutality in Burundi.
• July 23: US Ambassador to Burundi Dawn Liberi said the US would review its aid to Burundi over the next two months.
• July 23: In a statement, UNSG Ban Ki-moon calls the Presidential election “broadly peaceful” and recommends that the winner should form a unity government.

Ungekuwa kwetu wewe ni wa Milembe hospitali kuu ya Vichaa TZ