The African Union (AU) on Wednesday threatened to impose sanctions on Burundi’s rival factions if the sides fail to attend peace talks set for next month, as it pushes the government to accept a peacekeeping force into the country.
The two factions met in Kampala, Uganda on Monday, and are due to meet again in January 2016 in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha for talks aimed at ending months of violence.
The ongoing violence in the East African country has raised fears of a return to war nine years after the end of a civil war.
Ugandan officials said that the talks would resume on January 6th, but the Burundi government’s delegation said that “no consensus” had been reached on the date.
AU commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma warned of sanctions if violence continues and talks fail to go ahead.
“All those whose action could jeopardize the inter-Burundian dialogue, including attacks by armed groups against governmental facilities and other targets, as well as refusal to respond to the invitation of the mediator, shall be subjected to sanctions,” AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement seen on Wednesday.
The violence in Burundi began in April after President Pierre Nkurunziza declared his intention to contest for a controversial third term, which he went on to win in the July elections.
