Hutu Rebels in Burundi Ambush Commuter Bus, Kill 20 Passengers
In one of the deadliest attacks in recent years, Burundi’s Hutu rebels ambushed a commuter bus outside Bujumbura and killed 20 passengers, including a British aid worker, the army and survivors said Friday.
The rebels opened fire on the bus Thursday afternoon while it was traveling with 29 passengers from the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The ambush took place near Kilima, 18 miles northwest of Bujumbura, the capital of this tiny, central African nation.
The vehicle overturned and was surrounded by a gang of armed rebels who started taking the valuables and clothes off the terrified passengers, said a Rwandan woman identified only as Cadeau.
“We were asked to lie down on the concrete road. When they voiced their intention to kill us, I began begging them to spare my life and my child’s,” Cadeau said. One of the rebels came over to her and helped her up, then ordered her to run, she said.
Army spokesman Maj. Eduard Nibigiza said 20 passengers were killed, and an Associated Press reporter counted 20 bodies in a Bujumbura morgue, including the British woman.
Among the victims was Charlotte Wilson, 27, who joined the British Voluntary Service Overseas as a schoolteacher in Rwanda.
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