BUJUMBURA, Burundi
General Adolphe Nshimirimana, Burundi’s former army chief-of-staff and intelligence chief, was assassinated on Sunday by unknown assailants in Bujumbura’s Kamenge district, according to local sources.
“Nshimirimana’s car was struck by several rockets and grenades,” Willy Nyamitwetold, an advisor to President Pierre Nkurunziza, told Anadolu Agency.
Eyewitnesses, meanwhile, told Anadolu Agency that the assailants “wore army uniforms and targeted the former general’s car with three rockets.”
Burundi has been rocked by protest since April, when the ruling party named Nkurunziza – in power since 2005 – its candidate for the presidency.
Last month, Nkurunziza won a third presidential term in a controversial poll boycotted by the opposition, which says he lacks the constitutional right to sit for a third term in office.
Since anti-Nkurunziza demonstrations erupted in April, over 100 people have reportedly been killed countrywide, while tens of thousands have fled the violence to neighboring countries.
