The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) [advocacy website] on Tuesday urged [press release] the UN [official website] and African Union [official website] to intervene and stop an impending genocide in Burundi. The plea for intervention is based on a report [text, PDF] by the FIDH detailing the rise of violence in Burundi since April 2015 when protests started over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term. The president has cracked down on any opposition to the regime, and the report estimates that more than 1,000 people have already died and that more than 300,000 have fled the country. Worsening the crisis is the fact that the government has linked the ethnic Tutsis with the protesting, rekindling the feud between the two major ethnic groups in Burundi, the Tutsis and Hutus. The two groups were engaged in civil war in Burundi from 1993 to 2006, which is estimated to have caused 300,000 casualties. The FIDH warns that action must be taken immediately to avoid a genocide and has circulated a petition [text] to urge the UN to step in.

There have been several reports of violence and human rights violations taking place in Burundi since the protesting started, and in April the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced an investigation [JURIST report] into the reports. In October, as a reaction to the announced investigation, Burundi withdrew from the ICC [JURIST report]. Also last month the government of Burundi withdrew permits [JURIST report] from several prominent human rights organizations to operate in the country. The withdrawal of the permits was based on claims that the organizations had spoken out against the government.