EU ready to impose more sanctions on Burundi

European Union foreign ministers said on Monday they were prepared to strengthen economic sanctions on Burundi following the failure of talks to end a political crisis in the Central African country in which more than 440 people have been killed. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of Burundi sliding back into an ethnically charged conflict, […]

European Union foreign ministers said on Monday they were prepared to strengthen economic sanctions on Burundi following the failure of talks to end a political crisis in the Central African country in which more than 440 people have been killed. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of Burundi sliding back into an ethnically charged conflict, more than a decade after a civil war that killed 300,000, and said it has reports of mass graves and gang-rapes by security forces.
But President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose decision last April to stand for a third term triggered nine months of violence, has refused to accept an African Union peacekeeping plan, saying it would amount to an invasion. “The EU… stands ready to impose restrictive measures against those whose actions might have led or might lead to acts of violence and repression (and) serious human rights violations,” ministers said in a statement released during a meeting in Brussels, adding that those hampering a political solution could also be targeted.