Burundi: A Path Toward Civil War?

The current turmoil within Burundi, a tiny landlocked country in the middle of Africa with a population of nearly 11 million, poses a threat to regional peace and security and could hinder East African Community (EAC) political and economic integration. The fighting stems from Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision last year to run for a third term, apparently in violation of the constitution created after Burundi’s 1993 – 2005 civil war. Burundi’s constitutional court ruled in favor of Nkurunziza, and he won the presidential election in July 2015.

Nkurunziza remains in power and violence has reportedly intensified over the past 10 months. The United Nations puts the death toll from this latest conflict at nearly 500. But Cara Jones, an expert on the Great Lakes region, says her latest count is 1,467 deaths. The political science professor at Mary Baldwin College told The Cipher Brief that in the academic community, more than 1,000 deaths classifies as a civil war.