Bujumbura, Burundi--Burundi is at "crossroads" ahead of key elections, the UN rights chief said Wednesday -- between a fair vote that would boost the country and a route back to its "horrendously violent past".
"I will put it bluntly: as I prepared for this mission, I talked to many knowledgeable people, within and outside the UN, in Geneva and New York," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told reporters in Bujumbura.
"They were all, without exception, alarmed about the direction the country appears to be taking."
Zeid warned that the pro-government militia Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, was threatening the smooth running of the "pivotal elections".
"The root of many people's fears -- and many people in Burundi are very afraid -- is the militia of the Imbonerakure," he said.
"This militia, which openly supports the government, appears to be operating increasingly aggressively and with total impunity."
AFP
