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, NBC News reported.
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.
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.
