Commission reveals more atrocities

More than 4 000 mass graves have been found in Burundi following an investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into conflicts since independence in 1962. The commission, set up in 2018 to address ethnic tensions, says it has identified 142 505 victims from mass killings between 1965 and 1993. BBC News reports that commission chairperson Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye who presented the report to Parliament, said ‘many more mass graves are yet to be found because people who know about them are afraid to talk or are traumatised’. On Monday, a mass grave, with up to 270 bodies, was opened to the public in the main city of Bujumbura. The report notes that it is believed to contain the remains of those killed in clashes following the assassination of the country’s first Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye in 1993.