Authorities in Burundi have launched a search for former prime minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, who was sacked last September in a political purge.
Three properties belonging to Bunyoni were searched on Monday, but he was not found. The interior minister confirmed that the search is ongoing and a police colonel has been taken into custody for allegedly warning Bunyoni about the operation.
Bunyoni, seen as the leader of the hardliners among the generals who wield true political power in Burundi, was fired just days after President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned of a coup plot against him.
The country has a poor human rights record and remains one of the poorest in the world.
