Burundi: General assassinated in attack in capital

BUJUMBURA, Burundi – An official in Burundi says a general who was an adviser to the vice president has been shot dead in the capital.

Military spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza said Monday that Brig. Gen. Athanase Kararuza was ambushed by gunmen who fired at his car when he dropped his daughter at school in Bujumbura.

Baratuza said Kararuza's wife and one of his bodyguards were also killed in the attack. His daughter, another bodyguard and the driver were injured.

Baratuza said in a statement that the perpetrators of the attack hope to divide the army, and urged calm.

Burundi has been wracked by violence since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza declared his bid for a third term, which he won in July.