United Nations, United States - The UN Security Council held closed-door consultations Friday on violence shaking Burundi, where President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term sparked deadly protests.
Diplomats do not expect the Security Council to publish any kind of formal statement after the talks.
Russia has blocked previous Council initiatives seeking to take a position on Nkurunziza, saying the body should not get involved in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
Before the meeting called by France, ambassadors from the council's 15 member countries were briefed by UN special envoy Said Djinnit.
Diplomats who attended the meeting said Djinnit described the situation as tense in Burundi.
He stressed that informal discussions between opposition leaders and the government had focused on "conditions to appease the situation, but... focused on a (possible) third term" by Nkurunziza, diplomats said.
The East African Community bloc is on a fact-finding mission ahead of a special session on May 15 in Tanzania.
Djinnit said that the "EAC demands that the president publicly confirm that this will be his last term, guarantee political space for the opposition and address the flow of refugees."
More than 50,000 Burundians have fled their country since the start of political violence in April, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, which said that many more were trying to leave but faced hurdles.
"It is very important to illustrate the fact that the Security Council is fully mobilized to support the efforts of Said Djinnit and to stop the violence that we see and to create the conditions for a fair, transparent and inclusive election process," said French envoy Francois Delattre.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority who has been in power since 2005, has come under intense international pressure to withdraw.
At least 18 people have been killed, including protesters and police, and scores have been wounded since late April, when the ruling CNDD-FDD nominated Nkurunziza to stand for re-election, triggering daily protests.
AFP
