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African Union condemns massacre in Burundi

The African Union condemned an attack in Burundi that killed at least 40 people and offered to support efforts to consolidate peace in the East African country as the authorities began investigating the incident.

African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping “strongly condemns this barbaric act,” the Addis Ababa-based organization said in an e-mailed statement today.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on patrons at a bar in Gatumba, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) northwest of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, on Sept. 18. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The gunmen fled to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo after the attack, President Pierre Nkurunziza said on Sept. 19.

In November, the United Nations said Burundian rebels including the National Liberation Forces, known by their French acronym FNL, are using South Kivu Province in eastern Congo as a base to recruit supporters. Agathon Rwasa, the head of the FNL, went into hiding in June 2010 after withdrawing his candidacy for Burundi's presidential election.

Armed men wearing military uniforms have been involved in a series of shootings this year in which army officers, policemen and civilians have been killed. The attacks may be linked to the start of an armed rebellion in the East African country, Niyoyankana Bonaventure, president of the opposition Union for National Progress, said last month.

Investigation Begins

Burundi appointed four judges and three policemen to investigate the latest attack, Attorney General Valentin Bagorikunda told reporters today in Bujumbura. The team is expected to announce its findings within a month, he said.

The government also ordered the nation's media regulator to ensure newspapers in the country to refrain from reporting or commenting on the incident, Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana said on state television last night.

Burundi is rebuilding its $1.33 billion economy after a decade-long civil war that killed 300,000 people. Fighting broke out in 1993 when the country's first democratically elected president was assassinated. One of the world's poorest, Burundi relies on coffee to generate two-thirds of its exports and the industry is the main source of income for about 800,000 households, according to the International Monetary Fund.

--Editors: Paul Richardson, Karl Maier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Desire Nimubona in Bujumbura via Nairobi at pmrichardsonbloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardsonbloomberg.net.