A Burundian political opposition leader was shot dead in the nation’s capital, a police spokesman said Saturday. Zedi Feruzi, the leader of the UPD party, was killed along with his bodyguard in a drive-by shooting in Bujumbura, Pierre Nkurikiye said.
President Pierre Nkurunziza’s office said that it was “very moved by the assassination,” CNN reported.
The killers have not yet been identified, Nkurunziza’s office said in a statement. A radio journalist was seriously wounded in the attack near Feruzi’s home.
The violence comes a day after at least three people were killed and 21 were wounded by two grenades thrown in a market attack in Bujumbura.
The turmoil, much of it centered around Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term, has been ongoing for more than a month.
Such a reelection bid is prohibited by the agreement that ended the nation’s 1993-2003 civil war, yet the president is pushing forward nonetheless. Earlier this week, he moved the elections to June 6, ten days later than originally scheduled.
Protesters determined to prevent his candidacy have demonstrated in the capital and police have met them with deadly force.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged to bring the perpetrators to justice in order to avoid an escalation of violence in the country.
“The secretary-general condemns the killing of Zedi Feruzi… in Burundi, and his bodyguard in Bujumbura,” the UN said in a statement on Saturday.
