Updated

Uganda's deputy foreign minister says a U.S. envoy is in the country to encourage talks to resolve Burundi's crisis.

Okello Oryem told The Associated Press Friday that Tom Perriello, the U.S. envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region, is visiting Uganda to consult with Uganda's president on how to restart the Burundi negotiations.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was nominated by a regional bloc to act as the mediator in Burundi's political crisis, which has sparked a series of killings and moved the country toward a return to civil war.

At least 240 people have been killed in Burundi since April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term which he eventually won.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday condemning killings in Burundi and threatening sanctions.