Burundi police clashed with gunmen near the capital, killing eight and capturing 18 others, a spokesman said, in the latest violence following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s re-election.
The fighting occurred Oct. 31 in Nyabiraba district, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said Monday on his Twitter account, describing the gunmen as “criminals.”
More than 130 people have died in violence in the East African nation since April when Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term. Opponents say his July re-election violates a term-limit set in peace accords that ended a 12-year civil war in 2005.
Authorities are giving insurgents five days to surrender their weapons after which they will be treated as “enemies of the country” and punished with anti-terrorism laws, Nkurunziza said in prepared remarks he’s due to deliver on national television on Monday. The speech was posted on the presidency’s website.
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