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Burundi police 'seize weapons cache'

Friday November 27 2015
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Police in Bujumbura shared photos of arms and ammunition they said were recovered from the vehicle. PHOTO | BBC

Burundian police say they have recovered a large number of weapons following an attack on the home of an adviser to President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades were among arms found when they intercepted the attackers' truck, police in the capital Bujumbura told the BBC Great Lakes Service.

The police have made two arrests.

At least 240 people have died since April, after the president decided to run for a controversial third term.

Zenon Ndaruvukanye escaped unhurt from the attack in Kajaga, western Bujumbura, in which his police officer bodyguard was shot dead.

People from both sides of Burundi's political divide have been killed in attacks on an almost daily basis in recent months.

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The US said this week it will place sanctions on four current and former officials in Burundi in connection with the continuing violence there.

READ: US sanctions four Burundians blamed for crisis

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning the escalating violence.

The French-drafted resolution also paves the way for a possible deployment of blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers.

Burundi's constitutional court backed Mr Nkurunziza's third-term bid, as his first term as president did not count towards the constitutional two-term limit because he was chosen by MPs, rather than in a popular election.

Mr Nkurunziza was duly re-elected with 70 per cent of the vote in July.

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