The attack comes days before a disputed referendum that could extend President Pierre Nkurunziza's term. The Burundian government has blamed "terrorists" from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo for the assault.
Image: DW/A. Niragira
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An armed group has killed 26 people in northwest Burundi, the security minister said on Saturday.
The security minister of the east African country, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, told reporters that the attackers were "terrorists" from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said 24 people were killed in their homes on Friday night and two others died of their wounds at a local hospital.
The minister gave no further details about the attack on the Ruhagarika community of the rural northwestern province of Cibitoke.
The attack comes just days before Burundians vote in a controversial referendum that could extend President Pierre Nkurunziza's term until 2034. It was not immediately clear if the attack was related.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that the attack happened at around 10 p.m. local time (2200 CET) and attacked households and set houses ablaze.
Some victims were hacked with machetes and others were shot or burned alive.
Burundi: The chronology of a crisis
A year ago, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza returned to power for a controversial third five-year term. Since then violence has escalated and no end to the crisis is in sight.
Image: Reuters/E. Benjamin
Election amid high tensions
July 21, 2015: After three months of protests against Pierre Nkurunziza's third term and fierce battles between Nkurunziza’s supporters and the opposition, the presidential election was finally held. But the opposition chose to boycott it.
Image: Reuters/E. Benjamin
Agathon Rwasa, an unlucky loser?
July 24, 2015: President Nkurunziza wins the presidential election in the first round. With 69% of the vote, he was far ahead of his main challenger, Agathon Rwasa. By the end of July, Rwasa was surprisingly elected as first vice president of the national assembly, sparking criticism from his former allies.
Image: Reuters/M. Hutchings
European Union raises concerns
August 1, 2015: Adolphe Nshimirimana, head of internal security and considered the right-hand man of the president, is assassinated. In a statement, the European Union raised concern over this "dangerous escalation of violence." Brussels calls for "restraint" and a resumption of "dialogue."
August 3, 2015: Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, head of the human rights organization (APRODH), survives an assassination attempt and is evacuated to Brussels for medical treatment. But his family continues to be targeted and in October 2015 one of his sons-in-laws is killed and a month later his son is also murdered in Bujumbura.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. De Souza
Tensions with neighboring Rwanda
Since the crisis began, a large number of Burundian refugees fled to neighboring Rwanda. On November 6, 2015, President Kagame spoke about what was happening in Burundi: "People are dying every day, corpses littering the streets," he said. "They should learn from what happened here." Nkurunziza’s team fired back, accusing Rwanda of training rebels seeking to destabilize the country.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Kagire
Violence escalates
December 12, 2015: A crackdown begins on neighborhoods like Nyakabiga that were believed to be strongholds of protesters. This came after an attack by rebels against three military camps. More than a hundred victims were identified. The UN said that 400 people had been killed since April 26 and 3,500 were arrested in connection with the crisis.
Image: Reuters/J.P. Aime Harerimana
The United Nations sounds the alarm
December 17, 2015: The United Nations warns that the situation in Burundi is "highly explosive" and that the country is on the path to a civil war. Adama Dieng, the UN special rapporteur on the prevention of genocide, warns of a possible genocide. "If a conflict breaks out on a large scale, we cannot pretend that we did not know about it," he said.
December 23, 2015: A former army officer in the Burundian army forms the "Republican Forces of Burundi" (FOREBU). Lieutenant Colonel Edouard Nshimirimana accuses Pierre Nkurunziza of instigating the security forces to commit acts of violence and pitting police and military against each other along ethnic lines.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Pfister
Attempted dialogue
December 28, 2015: Inter-Burundian peace talks start in Entebbe under the auscipices of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The African Union (AU) also announces that it will deploy a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force to help secure the country, an idea that is immediately rejected by the Burundian government.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Wandera
Mediation fails
January 2016: Mediation fails to kickoff in Arusha. A month later, February 25 -26, the African Union sends a "high- level" delegation to Bujumbura led by South African President Jacob Zuma. It’s another failed attempt. Bujumbura refuses to talk with the opposition CNARED. UNHCR announces a group of independent experts to investigate violations of human rights in Burundi.
Image: Reuters/E. Ngendakumana
Allegations of torture by security forces
April 18, 2016: The UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein criticizes Burundi’s security forces for routinely torturing prisoners. Since the beginning of the year, his team had registered at least 345 new cases of torture. He urged the Burundian authorities to immediately put an end to torture in all its forms.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Campardo
Opposition not invited for dialogue
May 21, 2016: After another delay, the Inter-Burundian dialogue resumes in Arusha, Tanzania at the initiative of the Tanzanian mediator, former President Benjamin Mkapa. The Burundian authorities demand that the opposition coalition CNARED should not be part of the dialogue. In June, the facilitator [Mkapa] travels to Brussels to meet members of the Opposition for the first time.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Karumba
Costly doodles
June 3: Eleven students from a high school in Muramvya, in central Burundi, were charged and jailed for insulting the head of state. Their crime: doodled pictures of President Nkurunziza. A week earlier, more than 300 college students from Ruziba, south of Bujumbura, were expelled from school for the same reason.
Image: DW
A former minister assassinated
July 13, 2016. Hafsa Mossi, a former minister believed to be close to President Nkurunziza, is murdered near his home. A member of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, the former journalist was also the communications advisor for Nkurunziza. It is the first time a prominent political figure has been assassinated in Burundi.
Image: Reuters/E. Ngendakumana
An empty seat in Kigali
The crisis in Burundi was on the agenda of the 27th AU Summit in Kigali in July, but it took place without a representative from Bujumbura. The Burundi delegation left the Rwandan capital without explanation just days before the start of the summit. No action was taken against the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who still refuses to negotiate with the opposition.
Last month, Human Rights Watch accused the government of killing, beating and intimidating suspected opponents of the referendum in a bid to swing the vote in the president's favor.
The US has also denounced the violence against opponents and has expressed concern about the "non-transparent process" of changing the constitution.
The Burundian government has in recent weeks deployed soldiers to border areas after accusing exiled opposition groups of seeking to disrupt the vote.
Many Burundians fear a new round of bloodshed after the referendum no matter its results.
