NAIROBI (Reuters) – Unknown assailants set off four grenades in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura late on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding several others, police said.
One victim died instantly when the grenades went off in three different places as dusk fell, while one assailant was arrested after being wounded by his own grenade.
They were the first such explosions in the city since President Evariste Ndayishimiye took office last June, though eight people were killed on May 9 in Muramvya province, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) away when unknown gunmen ambushed several cars.
Ndayishimiye, who took office on his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza’s death, has carried out some reforms, including urging citizens to take COVID-19 seriously and lifting some restrictions on the media and activist groups.
But New York-based campaign group Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday his government continues to detain opposition figures it deems too critical, noting the operations of the BBC and Voice of America remain suspended.
Minister of National Solidarity Imelde Sabushimike told Reuters she had not seen the HRW report.
(Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet)
