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Burundian National Assembly passes bill to protect victims, eyewitnesses of 2004 massacre

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Burundian National Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill on the protection of victims and eyewitnesses of the 2004 massacre.

The bill stipulates the creation of a protection unit under the management of the Justice Ministry, which will ensure protection of victims, eyewitnesses and other persons in situation of risks.

The bill will support the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and to fight impunity, said Burundian Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana.

On the night of Aug. 13, 2004, 167 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly women and children, who escaped warfare in their home country, were brutally killed by unidentified assailants in Gatumba in Burundi.

A total of 87 members of parliament voted for the bill, with one against and another leaving the session during the voting process.

The TRC will look into crimes committed since Burundi's independence in 1962 till the signing of the cease-fire deal between the Burundian government and the then Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People-National Liberation Forces rebel group in December 2008. Endi