Burundi Genocide at Buta School:30th April 1997

Frères à la vie, à la mort by peace4all

On April 30th 1997 Buta massacre, CNDD-FDD Burundi Hutu Militia attacked a Catholic seminary in Buta, Bururi province, Burundi. According to survivors, the attackers attempted to separate Hutu students from their Tutsi classmates. When the students refused to be divided along ethnic lines, the killers massacred them all. No-one has yet been brought to justice for the massacre. Under the terms of a 2003 deal between CNDD-FDD Hutu militia and the then government (supported by the United Nations), all former CNDD-FDD Burundi Hutu militia currently enjoy immunity from prosecution.

At dawn on 30 April 1997, large numbers of rebels reportedly attacked the small seminary at Buta, breaking into the pupils' dormitories. Some 40 of them are said to have been massacred, while 26 others were wounded. One soldier and a night watchman were also allegedly killed during the incident. According to information which reached the Special Rapporteur, the attackers were armed with knives, machetes, clubs, rifles, machine-guns, mortars and grenades. Several groups of assailants reportedly killed the pupils who refused to divide into ethnic groups. They also allegedly looted the dormitories, stripped the bodies and set fire to the building. The priests who were on the scene are said to have been saved thanks to the intervention of soldiers stationed inside the seminary.