Burundi Facing Many Challenges as President Begins New Term
26 August 2010
Pierre Nkurunziza, current president of Burundi and of the ruling CNDD-FDD Party, greets a supporter during his election campaign at Gatumba, outside of the capital of Burundi, Bujumbura, 24 Jun 2010 (file photo)
Up on a hilltop overlooking vast green countryside and countless rolling hills, 28-year-old Suleyman Aronge sways from side to side beating a traditional Burundian drum. He and about 20 others are wearing tunics colored red, green and white - the colors of Burundi's flag.
Terrorism, Ethnic Division Threaten
Aronge voted in the elections despite fears by many of a terrorist attack. The Somali militant group al Shabab promised to target Burundi next after taking credit for the deadly bombings in Uganda on July 11th that left 76 people dead. But Aronge, who lives in Burundi's countryside - like the majority of the country's 10 million people - said he was not afraid to vote.
Uganda and Burundi both have a few thousand troops in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. Aronge says Burundians think their army is able to stop those attacks. "We are confident in our army," he said, but "we hope such an attack will never happen in our country".
Another challenge the country faces is ethnic division. A 13-year civil war between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-controlled government ended in 2006, but left about 300,000 dead. About 86 percent of the population is Hutu. The rest are mostly Tutsis.
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