{A leading Burundian general and close aide to President Pierre Nkurunziza has been killed in a rocket attack on his car in the capital Bujumbura, officials and witnesses have said.}<\/p>\n
Adolphe Nshimirimana was widely seen as the central African nation’s de facto internal security chief and considered by some as the president’s effective deputy.<\/p>\n
Police and witnesses told the AFP news agency that Nshimirimana’s car was hit in a rocket attack in Bujumbura shortly before midday on Sunday. <\/p>\n
African Union Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said in a statement she was “horrified” by the assassination, condemning “this barbaric act that is likely to further destabilise the country”. <\/p>\n
She urged the Burundian government, opposition political parties and civil society “to work very closely together to find a lasting solution to the current crisis”. <\/p>\n
The presidency’s communications chief Willy Nyamitwe later confirmed the general, a former army chief of staff and intelligence chief, had been killed.<\/p>\n
“I have lost a brother, a companion in the struggle. The sad reality is that General Adolphe Nshimirimana is no longer with this world,” Nyamitwe said in a message posted on Twitter.<\/p>\n
Sources told the Reuters news agency that the general was killed in the Kamenge district of Bujumbura along with three of his bodyguards.<\/p>\n
The attack comes just over a week after Nkurunziza was declared the outright winner of controversial elections, securing a third consecutive term despite opposition protests and international condemnation.<\/p>\n
Nkurunziza’s candidacy was condemned as unconstitutional by the opposition and provoked months of protests that left at least 100 dead, as well as an attempted coup in mid-May.<\/p>\n
Nshimirimana was seen as the mastermind behind the crackdown on the protests as well as a key player in foiling the coup attempt.
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