Burundi political violence

At least 87 people were killed in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, on Dec. 11 as antigovernment protesters clashed with the armed forces.

Ongoing violence in Bujumbura began in April 2015 when Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, announced he would be running for a third term in office, an act that many considered unconstitutional but which was upheld by a Burundian court. Nkurunziza was reelected in July in a disputed election. Since April, more than 400 people have been killed and more than 200,000 have left the country.

The African Union, fearing that Burundi may devolve into a civil war, has warned the government that it would not allow another genocide, referencing neighboring Rwanda’s genocide of the 1990s. Fighting in Burundi has not split across ethnic lines, however.