UPDATE: 87 Dead In Burundi After Unidentified Gunmen Storm Military Facilities Amid Political Turmoil

Burundian military and police frisk suspects after they recovered a cache of ammunitions recovered from combatants near Lake Tanganyika in the capital Bujumbura, December 9, 2015 © Jean Pierre Aime Harerimana / Reuters

Burundi’s worst outbreak of violence in months saw nearly 90 people killed in just one day, the army said. Local residents stayed at home, saying that they had seen piles of bullet-riddled bodies scattered in the streets.

Unidentified gunmen carried out coordinated attacks on three military bases in Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital, on Friday.

RT/AP report continues:

According to army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza, 79 assailants were killed during clashes and 45 others taken to custody. All in all the number of attackers reached 150.

Four police officers and four soldiers were killed in clashes and 21 security officers were wounded, he said.

"Sweep operations have finished now," Baratuza said on Saturday, adding that officials confiscated attackers’ weapons and ammunition.

Residents gather to take a look at dead bodies lying in the street in the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Bujumbura, Burundi Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015. (AP Photo)

Violence in Burundi first broke out in April when the ruling party announced that President Pierre Nkurunziza would seek a third term in office. A failed coup in May against the president led to hundreds of deaths. Over 200,000 have fled the country since May fearing a humanitarian tragedy.

Local residents remained in fear for the whole of Friday, afraid to go out and to see piles of bodies scattering the streets.

"What is the international community waiting for? Will they intervene when there are no more people in Burundi?" businessman Gerald Bigirimana asked, as cited by AP.

A man named Eric, who lived near the site of the attacked military college, told AFP that he was “holed up in the corridor of my house with my wife and children.” "Pray for us because we will die!" he said.

It is still unclear whether all the bodies in the streets belonged to the attackers. One resident from the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Burundi’s capital told AP that he counted at least 21 bodies with bullet wounds in their heads. Some corpses were lying with their hands tied behind their backs, he said.

"I fear I can be killed like my friend yesterday. Police came to search our house and by chance I escaped. If I had money, I would go buy a passport and flee," Fidele Muyobera, 22, told AP.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence, saying that the attacks risked triggering "a further destabilization of the situation", his spokesman said. Later, the UN human rights office announced that the UN Human Rights Council would hold a special session on the Burundi crisis next Thursday.

Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been engaged in the civil war in the period between 1993 and 2006 which killed scores of people.

Men carry away a dead body in the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Bujumbura, Burundi, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015. (AP Photo)

Burundi Army: 87 People Killed In Friday Violence

AP reports that violence from coordinated attacks on three Burundian army installations killed 87 people, an army spokesman said Saturday, showing the escalating turmoil over the disputed third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

More than 150 armed men raided the army facilities Friday and 79 of them were killed, army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza said Saturday. Eight security agents, four from the army and four from police, also died in the fighting and 21 security officers were wounded, he said. Baratuza said forces arrested 45 members of the unidentified group that attacked the military installations.

It is not clear if the army's number includes all of the 28 people whose bodies were found Saturday morning on the streets of Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. Residents of the city said that security forces searched houses and dragged out people and shot them, some with their hands tied behind their backs.

A climate of fear has engulfed the capital, Bujumbura, after the sounds of battle could be heard throughout the day Friday and overnight. Residents hid in their houses leaving only security personnel patrolling the streets.

Some residents ventured out of their houses Saturday but largely remained uneasily in their neighborhoods.

"What is the international community waiting for? Will they intervene when there are no more people in Burundi?" asked businessman Gerald Bigirimana in Nyakabiga while pointing at one of the bodies lying on the streets.

The body of a 14-year-old boy was found in the Jabe neighborhood, a witness said. James Ntunzwenimana was shot dead while going to buy sugar, said the witness who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety.

In the Nyakabiga neighborhood residents said they woke up to the shocking scene of dead bodies sprawled out on the streets. Witnesses said the security forces killed unarmed men.

An eyewitness told The Associated Press he counted 21 bodies with bullet wounds in their heads in Nyakabiga Saturday morning. Some of the dead had their hands tied behind their backs, said the witness, who insisted on anonymity due to safety concerns.

"I fear I can be killed like my friend yesterday, police came to search our house and by chance I escaped. If I had money, I would go buy a passport and flee," said Fidele Muyobera, 22, who works as household help.

In Nyakabiga soldiers pursued some of the men who attacked military installations in Ngagara and Musaga neighborhoods, said Baratuza, the army's spokesman. He declined to take questions from journalists.

Baratuza Friday said the attackers' intention was to steal weapons to use to free prisoners. Hundreds of people opposed to the president's third term have been imprisoned since April when it was announced that Nkurunziza would stand for a third term, sparking months of violent street protest and a failed coup.

Many Burundians and the international community have opposed Nkurunziza's third term as unconstitutional and in violation of a peace accord. The treaty ended a civil war in which 300,000 people were killed between 1993 and 2006

The United States said it is "deeply alarmed" by the violence in Bujumbura, said a statement released by John Kirby, a State Department spokesman. The U.S. called on neighboring countries to start urgent negotiations between Burundi's government and the opposition to defuse the situation.

The U.N. Security Council late Friday strongly condemned the violence, and U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said the council should look at "how the international community can protect civilians from mass violence, including for the possible deployment of a regionally led peace support operation."
At least 240 people have been killed since April and about 215,000 others have fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations.