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UN chief urges Burundian president to resume political dialogue

Xinhua, August 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Thursday urged President Pierre Nkurunziza to resume the political dialogue in Burundi, while voicing his concern over recent high-profile assassinations in the African country.

"The Secretary-General urged President Nkurunziza to resume the political dialogue, which has been suspended since July 19. He encouraged the Burundian authorities to work closely with the Ugandan-led facilitation on behalf of the East African Community," said Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesman for the secretary-general, at a daily briefing held here Thursday.

In a phone call with President Nkurunziza Wednesday, Ban reiterated his strong condemnation of the recent killing of General Adolphe Nshimirimana and the attempted assassination of Pierre Clavier Mbonimpa, according to Dujarric.

On Monday, Ban slammed the attempted assassination of prominent human rights defender Mbonimpa, calling for a prompt probe into the incident. This attack came one day after the killing of Nshimirimana, former Burundian intelligence chief.

"He (Ban) expressed his deep concern over the impact of these events on security in Burundi," said Dujarric, who also said the secretary-general offered UN's full support to help find a peaceful solution to the grave problems Burundi now faces.

Burundian President Nkurunziza won his third term after a controversial presidential election in late July as a candidate of the ruling party amid months of unrest sparked by his bid seeking for a new term.

The opposition said his re-election was illegal as it violated the country's constitution that sets a two-term limit for presidency.

The country's constitutional court, however, ruled that the president's first term doesn't count as he was appointed by a parliament not elected by the people. Endite