Burundi Sees European Union Lifting Sanctions Before End of Year
Evariste Ndayishimiye attends the swearing-in ceremony in Gitega, Burundi in 20202.
Photographer: Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP/Getty Images
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Burundi and the European Union have accelerated talks on lifting sanctions imposed by the bloc, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Albert Shingiro.
The EU placed penalties on some politicians and state officials and froze government financing in 2015 during a political crisis that followed former President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term, a move seen by the opposition as a violation of a peace deal. Ensuing violence left about 1,200 people dead and forced 400,000 others to flee the country.