In a statement issued on 27 July, the Human Rights Watch organization reported over 300 cases of rape or sexual assault committed by the Imbonerakure youths and men in police uniforms. The latter deny the allegations.
Burundian refugees gather on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Kagunga village, Kigoma, in western Tanzania on May 17, 2015/ Reuters
From May until September 2015, 323 (264 women and 59 girls) cases of rape or sexual assault were reported to have occurred in Burundi. According to the Human Rights statement, three categories have been identified since the outbreak of Burundi crisis in April 2015.
Firstly, in many locations and several provinces, men armed with guns, sticks, or knives raped women during attacks on their homes, most often at night. Secondly, the victims revealed that they were raped as they were trying to flee to neighboring countries. According to Human Rights Watch, the UNHCR in Tanzania said that of all incidents reported from June to October 2015, 16 were allegedly perpetrated by the police and 177 others by other members of the security forces or Imbonerakure.
Human Rights Watch also reported survivors with both immediate injuries and longer-term consequences such as sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, anxiety, and depression. “Over 170 people were raped in Burundi or during their flight to humanitarians in the two newest Tanzanian camps, Nduta and Mtendeli, since they opened last year”.
Thirdly, women have not been safe from rape in refugee camps, and services to assist them are inadequate and need to be better funded.
“The Tanzanian police working in the camp should ensure they fully investigate all rape cases”, calls out the HWR.
The HWR reports are not reliable, say the police
For Human Rights Watch, the Burundian president, Pierre Nkurunziza should publicly denounce security forces and Imbonerakure abuses and ensure those rapists and other abusers are called to account for their crimes. The UN Security Council should also authorize a strong international police force for Burundi, including women officers, to deter abuses, including rape.
Concerning the above allegations, the police qualify them as unfounded. Pierre Nkurikiye, the spokesperson of the police said the HWR reports are nothing but lies because they lack evidence. “HRW was involved in violence and in the production of fake videos whose objective is to tarnish the image of Burundi security forces. Then, that international organization continues its war against Burundi, its institutions and Burundians. In addition, it is unable to produce the proofs of what it pointed out”, explains Nkurikiye.
The police spokesperson goes on saying that it has been reported that HWR supported the troublemakers to burn people in the streets during the demonstrations. “This means that the HWR reports are not reliable”, he concludes.
We tried in vain to get the reaction of the ruling party CNDD FDD.
IWACU Open Data
