Eastern African Standby Force to join AU peacekeepers if deployed into Burundi

The Eastern African Standby Force (EASF) has said it will join African Union (AU) peacekeepers if Burundi accepts their deployment, the EASF commander said Tuesday upon arrival in Burundi.

"If all Burundian parties are brought together to the table and really commit for dialogue, we will have a solution for Burundi," said EASF Commander Brigadier General Domitien Kabisa.

"The EASF will be happy to be part of the MAPROBU as it will be a force deployed to show solidarity with Burundi because the force is meant to be a preventive force to secure the environment for the dialogue to happen and suggest solutions for Burundi," said Kabisa.

The EASF is made up by ten countries including Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

On Dec. 17, 2015, the African Union Peace and Security Council issued a resolution on the deployment of 5,000 troops dubbed the African Prevention and Protection Mission in Burundi (MAPROBU) to prevent genocide or massive killings, which the Burundian government strongly opposed.

Meanwhile, dialogue with the opposition in exile under the auspices of the Ugandan facilitation has stalled.

The Burundian government failed to attend political talks with the opposition on Jan. 6 in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Burundian government has reiterated that it will not participate in talks with "non-peaceful stakeholders", referring to people who took part in the failed coup plot on May 13, 2015.

Since April 2015, with the outbreak of protests against the third term bid of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza and his controversial re-election in July 2015, violence has left over 400 dead in the east African nation, according to civil society groups. Endit