Sixteen People Killed at Wedding in Burundi

In Burundi, sixteen people, including the couple to be married, were killed when a grenade exploded at a wedding in the northern village of Gasorwe. The man carrying the grenade, who was the brother of the bride, was also killed in the attack.

Reports show that the brother of the bride detonated the grenade when he was prevented from addressing dozens of family members at a welcoming home wedding party for his sister.

The man who threw the grenade was not a policeman, soldier, or former rebel, but rather a civilian. This situation suggests the need to disarm civilians. Moreover, officials want to rid the country of dangerous weapons following the twelve year civil war that was responsible for the deaths of a quarter of a million people.

Pierre Ntarabanyi, a police spokesman told the Associated Press that the there is a "whole question of disarming the civilian population because it is difficult to tell when someone is carrying a grenade."

Presently, all of Burundi's main rebel groups have signed peace deals. Only the the National Liberation Force, a main Hutu group has held out before in past peace deals.

For more information, please see:

"Grenade At Burundi Wedding Party." 7 September 2007. BBC.com  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/africa/6984155.stm

"Country Profile: Burundi"  BBC.com 17 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1068873.stm

"17 Killed in Grenade Attack in Northern Burundi." 7 September 2007. International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/07/africa/af-gen-burundi-grenade-attack.php