Leaders urge delay
Heads of state of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, plus South African President Zuma meet in Tanzania to discuss a political crisis in Burundi triggered by the president’s plan to run for a third term. Nkurunziza doesn’t attend, and is represented by the country’s foreign minister, Aime. Rwanda also sends a minister rather than the head of state. The leaders call for the postponement of elections by at least a month and a half. Tanzania’s President Kikwete:
The leaders have been trying to navigate our way so we can help the people of Burundi to land safely under the current circumstances.
Refugee cholera outbreak
Outbreaks of cholera and severe diarrhoea strike tens of thousands of refugees from Burundi who are jammed into a village in neighbouring Tanzania. Aid agencies working in the village on the edge of Lake Tanganyika say that sick Burundians are overwhelming health infrastructure and sanitation facilities. There is not enough safe water for drinking. UNHCR reports at least seven Burundian refugees have died of severe diarrhoea.