Why is Burundi rejecting African Union peacekeepers?
Burundi warns that the planned deployment of African Union soldiers will be an invasion of the country.
A showdown is looming between Burundi and African Union (AU) leaders.
The AU is giving Burundi until Tuesday to agree to accept a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force – or it will send the soldiers anyway.
Burundian government leaders are warning that they will not accept foreign soldiers.
It is the first time the African Union has invoked its rule to send peacekeeping troops to protect civilians.
The controversy and crisis is over the re-election of President Pierre Nkurunziza for a third term.
An estimated 220,000 people have fled the country in the past eight months.
At least 400 people have been reportedly killed, and extrajudicial killings and torture are being regularly reported.
But would African Union forces be able to stop the bloodshed?
Presenter: Nick Clark
Guests:
Jean-Claude Karerwa – deputy spokesman for President Nkurunziza
Devon Curtis – lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge
David Zounmenou – senior researcher for West Africa in the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies.