F
Burundi's government has rejected
the African Union's decision to deploy a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force to
curb ongoing violence in the troubled country, saying it will prevent foreign
troops from entering its borders.
The African Union's Peace and Security
Council agreed on Friday night to deploy an African Prevention and Protection
Mission (MAPROBU) for an initial period of six months - primarily to protect
civilians after months of political violence following the disputed re-election
of President Pierre Nkurunziza in July.
The MAPROBU force is mandated to
"prevent any deterioration of the security situation" as well as to
protect civilians and "contribute to the creation of the necessary
conditions for the successful holding of the inter-Burundian dialogue".
Nkurunziza's spokesman Gervais
Abayeho told Al Jazeera on Saturday, however, that Burundi does not need a
peacekeeping force.
"We will not allow foreign
troops in Burundi. We don't need them," Abayeho said.
"We have a legal and
democratically elected government that should be consulted before making such
decisions."
The African Union gave the Burundi
government 96 hours to cooperate fully and accept the deployment of
peacekeepers, warning that it reserved the right to enforce its decision to
send in forces - as per its charter.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow,
reporting from the capital Bujumbura, said the fallout of the political crisis
is seriously damaging the economy of one of the poorest countries in the world.
"Unemployment is on the rise
and and so are the prices of basic goods," our correspondent said.
"For the first time since the
end of Burundi's civil war a decade ago, the economy is set to contract - a
result of months of upheaval.
At least 87 people were killed last
week in the African nation in the worst violence in months linked to
Nkurunziza's disputed third term.
The 47-member Human Rights Council
approved by consensus on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, a text that calls for
the UN human rights chief to send in a mission of experts who are to report
regularly on the human rights situation in Burundi.
At least 400 people have been killed
since protests against Nkurunziza's third presidential term started in
April, and nearly 3,500 have been arrested in the political crisis, according
to UN figures.
At least 220,000 people have fled
the country.
The surge in violence has raised
fears of a return to civil war, a decade after the end of a 1993-2006 conflict
between rebels from the Hutu majority and an army dominated by minority Tutsis,
which left 300,000 people dead.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN
secretary-general, gave warning earlier this week that Burundi was on "the
brink of a civil war that risks engulfing the entire region".
*YOUR COMMENTS/OPINIONS ARE
WELCOMED*
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA
0 Comment to "NAWA OOOO……Burund Says They will Not Allow Foreign Troops To Enter The Country"
Post a Comment