KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — In Burundi, human rights activists have begun documenting a new target of the government’s deadly security forces: members of the feared Imbonerakure youth group who are now killed to ensure their silence.
The International Criminal Court is now looking into the country’s bloody political turmoil, which began in 2015 over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid to seek a disputed third term that he ultimately won.
Burundi’s most prominent human rights activist says Imbonerakure members who are thought to have witnessed grave crimes are now at risk of being assassinated or arrested.
Another prominent local activist has published a list online of dozens of Burundians “forcibly disappeared” over the past two years. It includes Imbonerakure members, activists and politicians from various parties, journalists, intelligence agents, police and army officers and civilians.