Burundi

Burundian security forces have arrested an opposition official and his wife, his party said. Deo Nshimirimana, a former lawmaker and a Union for Peace and Development (UPD) party official was detained alongside his wife and a businessman. A security official who asked not to be named said the UPD official and even the party are linked to a terrorist group bent on destabilising Burundi, according to AFP.

Aid organisations say a small handheld computer will allow them to more rapidly assess where food aid is needed most urgently. As a result, fewer Burundians will suffer hunger this year.

Several mysterious killings in Burundi, where memories of civil war are still fresh, have spread fear and disrupted livelihoods, while authorities have sought to play down talk of renewed armed insurrection, blaming some of the deaths on bandits. Tension has been mounting in Burundi since several elections were held earlier this year. The presidential poll was boycotted by most of the opposition amid claims of fraud in the local polls.

The Mutambara Peace Village is a unique effort to reconcile Hutus and Tutsis by giving them homes to live together in the same village. Today, some 1,600 Hutus and Tutsis live as neighbours in 300 identical two-room homes constructed of concrete with tin roofs.

The political climate is growing increasingly antagonistic in Burundi, where many of today’s political parties were yesterday’s rebel groups. A spate of elections designed to entrench stability through pluralism has only made matters worse, say analysts, raising fears that a 10-year-old power-sharing deal is falling apart.

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