Leading the News -

Burundi -

On January 12th, the Burundian Justice Ministry indicated the verdict on the trial of former Defense Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye and 27 others accused of plotting the failed coup attempt in May would be handed down on Thursday. While the defendants pleaded guilty to attempting a coup, they have denied other charges of killing police officers and providing weapons to civilians to stroke an insurgency.

On January 13th, Army Captain Idi Omar Bahenda and police Brigadier Jean Claude Niyongabo, two Burundian security officers who defected from the government, were killed in firefight with military forces in Bujumbura. The men, who were traveling in a car with other renegade police officers, were stopped by police, who found explosives, a rocket-propelled grenade, and a rifle in their possession. Gunfire broke out when the suspects tried to flee.