NAIROBI: Explosions that ripped through the city of Bujumbura after a fire in a military arsenal killed at least 13 people and left dozens wounded in the Burundian economic capital, the army announced on Wednesday.

Another 57 people were wounded, three of whom were soldiers, the army said. “Houses were damaged in various neighbourhoods as well as private vehicles.

Military equipment and facilities burned and were destroyed,” army spokesperson General Gaspard Baratuza added in the latest update.

The explosions erupted on Tuesday at the main ammunition depot of the Burundi National Defence Force (FDNB) in Musaga, a southern suburb of Bujumbura.

The army confirmed on Wednesday that 13 civilians had been killed, without specifying if any soldiers died in the incident. Earlier, security sources had said that dozens of people had been killed.

An army spokesman had said the cause was an “electrical accident”. In videos, clouds of smoke loomed over the neighbourhood during the blast, sending panic through the city of more than a million people.

Earlier Wednesday, a high-ranking army officer said: “It is impossible to establish a toll for the moment, but dozens and dozens of people have been killed, and there are hundreds or even thousands of injured.” A senior police officer present at the site said the detonation broke out “where heavy weapons and ammunitions are stored, which is why we immediately heard large explosions”. “There are dozens of dead, but the toll may be higher,” the senior police officer said.

Prisoners among dead

The arsenal in Musaga is located in a densely populated area and adjoins the Higher Institute for Military Cadres (ISCAM), where aspiring army officers are trained and housed. It also houses numerous army logistics depots and is next to another military base, Muha camp, and the central Mpimba prison.

A source at Mpimba prison said that eight inmates had been killed and several others injured, who were taken to hospital by the Red Cross on Wednesday. With the authorities still to provide a definitive summary of the casualties figures.

“The regime here is very reluctant to communicate about deaths, especially military ones,” he added.

Burundi, ranked by the World Bank as the world’s poorest country by GDP per capita in 2023, has faced years of deep economic crises. The most recent saw a severe fuel shortage that has paralysed the nation for the past three years.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026