Word: burundians
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...Union peacekeeping mission to the country (called the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM) remains stymied on the ground, undermanned and vulnerable, its troops bearing an unenviable and almost impossible task. In a country that has been in chaos for nearly 20 years, what peace can 5,000 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers possibly keep...
...nightmare started with silence: one fall morning in 1993, none of the doctors at the Burundian hospital where Deogratias Niyizonkiza worked showed up. War had erupted, forcing the promising medical student to embark on a harrowing flight through the bloodstained hills of Burundi and Rwanda. Armed with a ticket bought by a friend's father, he boarded a plane to New York City--where he arrived with no English, no contacts and just $200 in his pocket. Facing hunger, homelessness and heavy odds, the young refugee--propelled by the kindness of strangers--rose from the streets to Columbia University...
...make matters worse, Ethiopian troops are leaving Somalia, and the AU’s armed forces cannot step in to maintain peace in the country. The AU troops in Somalia consist entirely of Ugandan and Burundian troops, and according to reports these troops are planning to leave the country, with the Ethiopians even staying longer than planned to protect their retreat...
Frederic Ngoga-Gateretse, a security-risk analyst specializing in Africa, says there had been hope for a release on Nov. 11 because of international appeals. Instead Sinduhije was charged and transferred to Mpimba prison. Ngoga-Gateretse, who is also a member of a Burundian opposition party and a friend of Sinduhije, "strongly believes" that high-level government leaders, including President Nkurunziza and General Adolphe Nshimirimana, head of the country's intelligence service, pressured lower-ranking officials not to release Sinduhije. According to Ngoga-Gateretse, who is based in Maryland, Burundian authorities are holding Sinduhije in spite of international pressure...
Burundi's government, however, says it is concerned about security, and that Sinduhije is being treated justly. "I don't think that the reason they arrest him is to scare him or is in connection to the upcoming election," Celestin Niyongabo, the Burundian ambassador to the United States, told TIME. "Burundi is a country emerging from conflict," and given potential security threats, "the police had the right to go and look at what is happening in the house of any citizen." He emphasized that Sinduhije has access to a lawyer. He could not say when the trial would...