Burundi Civil War
Burundi
December 07, 2004 This Travel Warning is being issued to update information on crime and to alert American citizens to ongoing safety and security concerns in Bujumbura, Burundi. This supersedes the Travel Warning of May 11, 2004. The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. The Department urges private American citizens in Burundi to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times. [Read More]
Burundi
December 07, 2004 This Travel Warning is being issued to update information on crime and to alert American citizens to ongoing safety and security concerns in Bujumbura, Burundi. This supersedes the Travel Warning of May 11, 2004. The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. The Department urges private American citizens in Burundi to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times. [Read More]
Burundi (06/05)
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are available on the Consular Affairs Int ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Burundi is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced child soldiering. The country is emerging from a 12-year civil war in which government and rebel forces used approximately 3,200 children in a variety of capacities, including as cooks, porters, spies, sex slaves, and combatants. There are reports that the government army and two former rebel groups — the CNDDFDD (Nkurunziza) and the CNDD (Nyangoma) — still have a small number of children in their ranks. While there were unconfirmed reports that these two rebel groups recruited boys in 2004, there were no reports that the army recruited child soldiers. The one rebel faction that remains outside the peace process, the PALOPEHUTU-FNL, continued to recruit and use child soldiers. The Government of Burundi does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, ... [Read More]
Burundi
Rebels killed, beat, kidnapped, and stole from civilians, and raped women (see Section 1.b.). On occasion, Hutu rebels deliberately targeted Tutsi citizens. In January, during FAB operations in Ruyigi Province, unidentified assailants reportedly raped several women following fighting between the FAB and CNDD-FDD members. Two women reportedly died after being raped in these incidents. By year's end, no action had been taken against those responsible. Rebel forces often killed civilians who refused to comply with extortion. There were numerous reports that rebel forces regularly ambushed minibuses on national highways, and robbed and killed the occupants. U.N. security officials reported numerous other ambushes during the year. Between April 17 and 19, CNDD-FDD rebels shot and killed 9 civilians and injured 41 in Bujumbura. Between July 7 and 12, the ... [Read More]
Burundi
The Transitional Government's human rights record remained poor, and the Transitional Government continued to commit numerous serious human rights abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. Security forces, including the CNDD-FDD, continued to commit numerous arbitrary and unlawful killings, including killings of unarmed civilians, many of whom were killed during reprisal attacks on those suspected of cooperating with the PALIPEHUTU-FNL. There were credible reports of disappearances, and security forces continued to torture, beat, rape, and otherwise abuse persons. Prison conditions remained harsh and sometimes life threatening. Impunity and the continuing lack of accountability for those who committed past abuses remained serious problems. Arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy pretrial detention were problems; there were also credible reports of incommunicado detention. The court system did not ensure due process or provide citizens with fair trials. The ... [Read More]
Photos by Regions and Topics
Bureau of Public Affairs Electronic Information and Publications Office [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Private homes tend to be the focal point for social life in Bujumbura, and the Embassy GSO has some items to lend for entertaining, such as glassware, card tables, chairs, and hurricane lamps. However, large supplies of china, glassware, and flatware are useful. Bring a wide range of cooking equipment, serving trays, napkins (cloth and paper, including cocktail napkins), and a generous supply of candles. Charcoal grills are in wide use, and charcoal is readily available. ... [Read More]
Rwanda (01/05)
The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha accords came under attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently with the genocide for 2 months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire, in June 1994 on a humanitarian mission. They deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in an area they called "Zone Turquoise," quelling the genocide and stopping the fighting there. The Rwandan Army was quickly defeated by the RPF and fled across the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million refugees who fled to Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the war ended on July 16, 1994. The RPF took control of a country ravaged by war and genocide. Up to 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million or so had fled, and another million or so were displaced internally. ... [Read More]
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