Gunmen assassinate former Burundian minister

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AA) – A former Burundian government minister was shot dead Wednesday by unidentified gunmen outside her home in Bujumbura, police sources have told Anadolu Agency.

Hafsa Mossi, a member of the ruling CNDD-FDD party and a lawmaker in the regional East African Legislative Assembly "was shot dead by two criminals on board a car as she was leaving her home " in Mutanga district, east of the capital, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said.

Mossi died before reaching hospital, police confirmed.

Willy Nyamitwe, media adviser to Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza tweeted: "I am shocked by the death of my elder sister Hafsa Mossi."

Hafsa Mossi is the second major political figure to be killed since the beginning of Burundi’s political crisis.

In May 2015, Zedi Feruzzi, chairman of the opposition Union for Peace and Democracy, was murdered by unidentified men in the Ngagara district of Bujumbura.

Wednesday’s murder comes as opposition parties boycott a second round of Burundi peace talks taking place in Arusha, Tanzania.

Burundi’s security and political crisis started in April 2015 when Nkurunziza announced his candidacy for a third presidential term. Since then, more than 400 people have been killed and at least 230,000 have fled the country to seek refuge in neighboring states.

The worst of the violence occurred on Dec. 11 when 87 people were killed in clashes in Bujumbura.