Burundi leader vows to fight AU troops

 

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Wednesday said he would fight proposed African Union peacekeepers if they set foot on Burundian soil, defying intense global pressure to accept the force.

“Everybody should respect the borders of Burundi. If the troops are in violation of this decision, they will have attacked Burundi, and each Burundian must stand up to fight them,” Mr Nkurunziza said in a speech broadcast on state radio.

“The country will have been attacked, and we will fight them.”

The 54-member African Union gave Burundi a four-day deadline on December 17 to accept a 5,000-strong force to halt months of violence, pledging to send troops even though Burundi said it was opposed to an “invasion force”.

The small central African country descended into bloodshed in April when Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a controversial third term in a July election that he went on to win.