EU, U.S. and Switzerland condemn violence in Burundi

The European Union (EU), Switzerland and the U.S. via their embassies in Burundi have condemned the recent violence that happened in Burundi's northwestern of Cibitoke and in the eastern province of Ruyigi, according to a joint declaration issued Monday.

"We condemn violence that recently occurred in the provinces of Cibitoke and Ruyigi. We are also expressing our concern towards acts of violence that happened in the two provinces," said the joint declaration.

Through the declaration, the EU, the U.S. and Switzerland deplored the "big number" of victims and "strongly" condemned any form of violence that would happen again.

Earlier this month, a four-day fighting that took place in Cibitoke, on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Burundi, left 99 killed including 95 gunmen, two soldiers and two civilians.

So far, neither the name of the armed group or the chief of the group are known.

On Jan. 4, in the country's eastern province of Ruyigi, three ruling party militants were killed when five gunmen irrupted in a bar.

They tied them up before shooting them dead and burning a flag and an office of the ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) at Ndemeka in the commune of Gisuru.

In their declaration, the EU, the U.S. and Switzerland urged Burundian politicians to hold talks in the spirit of the Arusha Agreement and in the electoral framework.

Burundi is organizing general elections between May and September this year. Endi