A sequence of devastating blasts at a Burundian military ammunition storage facility has left at least 13 people dead and 57 others injured, according to official updates from the Burundian army. The incident, which unfolded on Tuesday evening in the Musaga suburb of Bujumbura — the East African nation’s most populous urban center — was triggered by an electrical malfunction, army spokespersons confirmed.
The force of the consecutive explosions was powerful enough to hurl shrapnel and wreckage more than five kilometers (three miles) from the blast site, leaving a wide trail of destruction across surrounding residential areas. Along with the human casualties, the blasts destroyed military infrastructure and equipment, while dozens of civilian homes and private vehicles sustained severe damage.
The affected military logistics depot sits in a heavily populated residential zone, positioned adjacent to both a separate military base and Mpimba Central Prison, one of the city’s main correctional facilities. One inmate at the prison was killed when a blast fragment struck the facility, and multiple other detainees were left injured, according to accounts shared with the BBC. In another residential neighborhood in northeast Bujumbura, Gisandema, a bomb fragment destroyed a private home and killed a domestic worker employed at the property. Local witnesses have shared additional accounts of two civilian fatalities near the depot, including a young woman who was killed by shrapnel as she fled the area with a crowd of other residents.
Thick plumes of dark smoke billowed over the city of more than 1 million residents, triggering widespread panic across local communities. Multiple residents reported that blasts continued intermittently from roughly 18:15 local time (16:15 GMT) through midnight, forcing hundreds of families to abandon their homes to seek safe shelter elsewhere. One resident who spoke to the BBC recalled sustaining a foot injury from falling shattered glass during the incident, while other local residents say they are waiting for official confirmation that the area is safe before they can return to rebuild their daily routines.
Burundian military officials have extended formal condolences to the families of those killed and shared sympathy with people injured in the blasts. They have called on local residents to remain calm, and urged anyone encountering unexploded ordnance to report it immediately to authorities. Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye also released a public message of condolence via the social platform X, confirming that national authorities are mobilizing to support affected communities.
Early informal accounts from witnesses and security sources had varied on the death toll, with some sources initially reporting higher casualty numbers, before the army released its official, updated count.