Burundi

Mass protests in April 2015, in response to President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third electoral term, resulted in political upheaval and widespread killings by the security forces and armed opposition groups.  Police used excessive force and shot demonstrators indiscriminately with live ammunition.  20,000 people fled Burundi in fear of civil war returning. After July’s disputed presidential election that returned Nkurunziza to power, government forces, armed opposition groups and unknown assailants killed hundreds of people. The government arrested hundreds of suspected opponents, often arbitrarily, as well as launching a crackdown against civil society activists and journalists and banning protests.