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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (AFP) - The UN Security Council has voiced concern over the escalating violence in Burundi, fully backing the Bujumbura government's efforts to restore law and order.
In a statement adopted by consensus Thursday, the council said it "supports fully the efforts of the Burundi authorities in seeking to ensure that those committing or inciting...acts of violence are held accountable for their actions and that the militias that are still operating both in Bujumbura and in the countryside are disarmed."
The Burundi government clamped a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Bujumbura Wednesday night after an emergency cabinet meeting, amid mounting fears that Burundi may plunge into civil war.
The Security Council said the violence "threatens to further destabilize an already fragile situation and could endanger the stability of the sub-region."
Reading from the statement, this month's Security Council President Manzi Bakuramutsa of Rwanda, called on all those concerned in Burundi "to respect and give support to the Convention of Government of 10 September 1994 and thus avoid jeopardizing the delicate balance and relative stability in place since its implementation."
The council urged all sides to "work towards compromise and conciliation in a spirit of national unity which transcends ethnic origins."
ras/fgf/g AFP AFP
