The international community and the Burundian civil society are worried about the deteriorating security throughout Burundi as the presidential elections scheduled for June 28, this year is drawing near UN Secretary General Executive Representative to Burundi Charles Petrie on Tuesday expressed his concern over mounting violence throughout the country.
"We are closely following what is happening in Burundi and we are worried about grenade attacks reported here and there throughout Burundi," said
Charles Petrie.
The representative also invited all political actors to sit together and find a solution to the real causes of insecurity.
European Union envoy to the Great Lakes Region Ambassador Roland Van De Geer also deplored the deteriorating security situation in the country.
On Tuesday, Van De Geer said "The current security situation in Burundi does not give signs of hope for the success of the presidential elections with only one candidate."
The Burundian civil society also has said that it is worried about the deterioration of security since the beginning of the electoral campaign for
the presidential elections which started on June 12.
The Iteka Human Rights League said there is urgent need to carry out investigations and find out who fired grenades and who burned the offices of the ruling Conseil National pour la D�fense de la D�mocratie-Forces de D�fense de la D�mocratie (CNDD-FDD).
"The government should arrest all people involved in criminal acts which are now increasing in the electoral process", Edouard Biha, Iteka League
Executive Secretar, told Xinhua on Thursday.
Biha said every night of these days is characterized by violence, added that no criminal has been so far arrested. Acts of violence began on June 11, one day before the beginning of the electoral campaign for presidential elections, with the burning of the ruling CNDD-FDD party offices in Rumonge town, southern Bururi Province.
On June 12, grenade blasts occurred in the capital Bujumbura and CNDD-FDD party offices continued to be burned throughout the country. From June 12, grenades have continued to be fired and CNDD-FDD party offices continued to be burned. On Wednesday, a grenade was fired at Kamenge slum in the capital Bujumbura and injured two persons.
Another unexploded one was discovered at Musigati in western Bubanza Province on Wednesday morning. Still on Wednesday morning, other two grenades reportedly set as a trap were fired by police agents at Kanyosha, in the capital Bujumbura.
Burundi has entered a four-month electoral period. After the May 24 communal elections whose results have been rejected by the opposition, the next one is the presidential election due on June 28.Burundi's current President Pierre Nkurunziza of the ruling CNDD-FDD is the only one candidate for the presidential poll after the pull out of six opposition candidates who are alleging fraud in the communal elections.
The presidential elections will be followed by the election of deputies due on July 23. The fourth poll will be that of senators and is due on July 28 and the last one is the village-based election which will be held on September 7.