Gatumba attack : Burundian authorities announce they have contacted INTERPOL to find the perpetrators

The Burundian minister in charge of internal affairs announced Tuesday that Burundian authorities have contacted INTERPOL so that the perpetrators of the Gatumba massacres be repatriated and tried in the small East African nation. Martin Niteretse described the attack which claimed the lives of 20 people, according to a statement from the Burundian government, as an act of terrorism. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

This Tuesday, 19 civilians were buried in Gatumba (west Burundi) not far from the border with the DRC with the help of the government. The twentieth victim, a police officer, should be buried with military honors, we learned. It is the minister responsible for internal affairs who represented the government. Martin Niteretse denounced “a barbaric act”.

“The perpetrators of these massacres are no longer human. They certainly have human flesh but with the hearts of savages. What does he gain who kills a human being that he does not eat?”, declared Minister Niteretse in an exhausted tone in front of the families of the inconsolable victims.

Terrorism

For Minister Martin Niteretse, last Friday’s attack was pure madness.

“[…] That is terrorism. For those who were able to arrive at the scene of the tragedy, we saw that what happened was unimaginable.
Imagine people setting off bombs to kill one-year-olds and two-year-olds. That’s terrorism. A pregnant mother who begs you to spare her but instead of leaving her alive, you do everything to kill her”, continued Mr. Niteretse.

Crime against humanity and prosecution

For the Burundian authorities, the act is a crime against humanity.

“It is terrorism but also it is a crime against humanity. It is an unforgivable crime. We are ready at the level of the Burundian government, the OPJ (law enforcement officers) and the justice system, to bring these people to justice wherever they are found. There are some who commit crimes and flee thinking that they are inaccessible. We will pursue and track them down to the last one. Whether they are the perpetrators or their accomplices. We will collaborate with INTERPOL. We have already contacted INTERPOL. Even other criminals have been repatriated and tried. This is the step that must follow as soon as possible”, affirmed Martin Niteretse who asked all Burundian citizens to help “find these criminals”.

According to the minister in charge of internal affairs, everyone knows that “Burundi is not at war. We must denounce any suspicious movement. When these terrorists explode bombs, they do not target any ethnic group. Hutus, Tutsis or Twa can be killed, members of different political parties can be killed…When they do that, they want to destabilize us but they will be there before us.”

A representative of the affected families thanked the Burundian government for organizing this burial.

Bonaventure Minani spoke of a very painful situation where some families lost more than one member.

Local observers found it “insane” the fact that almost the entire government was going further east in Burundi to the province of Cankuzo this Tuesday for the opening of a crusade organized by the presidential couple, the same day of the burial of victims of the Gatumba attack.

“Under other skies, we would even have witnessed national mourning lasting a few days”, they estimate.

For others, the Burundian authorities are “unconscious and selfish”.