The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday, warning that mounting violence in Burundi could led to potentially "devastating consequences" for the entire region.
The French drafted the resolution, adopted Thursday in a meeting of the 15-member U.N. body, condemned the recent wave of violence and human rights violations in the country, the U.N. said in a statement. It also called on all parties in Burundi to engage in peace dialogue.
"We know that in the worst case what we are talking about is a possible genocide and we know that we need to do everything that we possibly can to prevent that," said British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, according to AFP.
The UNSC also discussed the possibility of troops deployment in the East African nation if the Burundian government failed to end the violence, according to DW.
"The resolution asked Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to deploy a UN team in Burundi to work with the Government, African Union and other partners to develop options to address political and security concerns and to report back in two weeks with options for a future UN presence in the country," the statement said.
The Burundian government, however, maintains that the country is "not in flames" and everything is under control, according to Voice of America.
Nearly 250 people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in violence that erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term earlier this year.
The U.N. refugee agency said that over 105,000 Burundians have now fled the country in the south of Rwanda, with over 70,000 crossing to neighbouring Tanzania, and over 9,000 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as HNGN previously reported.
