Burundi

[…] A recent announcement … took many politicians by surprise. On Wednesday, the alliance's executive secretary, Anicet Niyonkuru, arrived in the capital, Bujumbura, from Brussels, Belgium, along with 15 other opposition politicians who have lived in exile the past four years. Niyonkuru said elections were the only way to improve conditions in Burundi, which has been stuck in political turmoil since President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for and won a controversial third term in 2015.

[…] “Although noticeable efforts have been made by the Government to improve the security situation, the human rights situation remains a source of grave concern.”

Security forces in Burundi have killed at least 14 armed men who had intended to launch an attack in the northwestern province of Bubanza, police and residents said.

A plan to repatriate some 200,000 Burundian refugees living in Tanzanian camps has raised concerns that many who fled the country to escape violence may be forced back home, just as Burundi’s 2020 elections increase the prospects of a new political crisis.

Diplomatically isolated and its economy on the skids, Burundi is cautiously reaching out to its opponents in a bid to ease a deepening four-year-old crisis. In the past few days, President Pierre Nkurunziza's government has met with CNARED—a forum of exiled opposition figures that opposed Nkurunziza's decision in 2015 to defy constitutional limits and seek a third term in office.

Burundi and Tanzania agreed in August to start repatriating 200,000 refugees, saying that conditions in Burundi had improved.

The Catholic Church has denounced political violence and intolerance in Burundi in the lead-up to next year's elections. The church joins a growing number of human rights groups and organizations who are increasingly critical of the government.

A committee looking into abuses in Burundi has concluded that President Pierre Nkurunziza is personally accountable for serious violations. They have presented their final report before the international human rights council in Geneva. … The UN commission's report says agents of the national intelligence service, the police and the ruling party youth wing were the main perpetrators of the crimes against humanity.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi said Wednesday that the country, following years of political turmoil, was primed for a genocide. The commission's warning, contained in its latest report on human rights in Burundi, was based on an analysis developed by the U.N. Office for the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect.

A deal to begin repatriating almost 200,000 Burundi refugees from Tanzania beginning in October has sparked anxiety among the displaced, with individuals considering an appeal to the United Nations and at least one civil society group weighing a lawsuit over any forced return.