A catastrophic series of explosions tore through an ammunition depot in Burundi's largest city, Bujumbura, leaving at least 13 civilians dead and 57 others injured.
The deadly blasts erupted late Tuesday night in the bustling suburb of Musaga. According to a military spokesperson, an electrical fault sparked the disaster, detonating military stockpiles and launching lethal shrapnel up to five kilometers (three miles) into the surrounding areas.
The Burundian army confirmed the casualty count, noting that three soldiers were among the dozens wounded in the chaos. The sweeping destruction flattened civilian homes, severely damaged private vehicles, and decimated nearby military infrastructure and equipment.
Because the logistics depot is nestled within a densely populated civilian zone—adjacent to another military base and the Mpimba Central Prison—the fallout was immediate and devastating. Stray explosives struck the prison grounds, killing at least one person and injuring numerous inmates. Further away in the northeastern Gisandema neighborhood, witnesses reported that a rogue bomb annihilated a residential home, claiming the life of a domestic worker.
Panic gripped the city of over a million residents as the relentless explosions raged continuously from 6:15 p.m. local time until midnight. Thick smoke choked the night sky, forcing many families to abandon their homes in a desperate search for safety.
"She was in front of me. I saw her falling as she was running in a group of people. After a short while I came to know she was violently hit by a bomb," one traumatized Musaga resident recalled of a young woman killed during the exodus.
Another survivor described the terrifying ordeal of shattered glass raining down on his family as they fled, leaving him with injuries. Exhausted residents are now pleading with officials for clarity and reassurance that the threat has fully passed so they can safely return and begin to rebuild their lives.
Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye expressed his deep condolences on the social media platform X, assuring citizens that authorities are actively mobilized to help. The military has echoed these sentiments, urging the public to remain calm while issuing a critical warning for residents to report any unexploded ordnance discovered in the streets or their neighborhoods.