Reuters: Africans to press Burundi to accept peacekeepers - diplomats
The African Union will send a mission to troubled Burundi to press the government to accept a peacekeeping force after the president rejected such a move, a senior AU official said after a summit on Sunday.
African leaders, who held a two-day summit, may also ask the U.N. Security Council to exert pressure with a possible sanctions threat if it refuses, a senior Western diplomat who followed the proceedings told Reuters.
Officials said a final communique was awaiting clearance from African capitals. The senior official and diplomat were citing its main points before it was endorsed.
The AU's Peace and Security Council announced plans in December to deploy a 5,000-strong force, saying it could invoke an article of the AU's charter that allowed it to intervene whether or not the government agreed.
President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose bid for a third term angered opponents and sparked months of violence, rejected it.
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More News On The African Union Not Sending Peacekeepers To The Strife-Torn Nation Of Burundi
African Union abandons plans to send peacekeepers to Burundi -- BBC
AU Summit Ends Without Burundi Action -- VOA
AU defers deployment of peacekeepers for Burundi -- The Guardian
AU force for Burundi on hold amid govt refusal -- The Nation
AU shelves proposal to deploy troops to Burundi -- DW
Crisis-torn Burundi's leaders should pursue dialogue, listen to concerns of their people – UN chief -- UN News Centre
The US (via AFRICOM) got Burundi heavily involved in the Somalia mess it created after Ethiopia pulled out, but Burundi has serious internal problems of its own, and now they benefit from US training and weapons.
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