Troops shot in Burundi 'stable'

2005-05-23 12:51

Pretoria - Four SANDF soldiers wounded in a shooting in Burundi were stable, spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Kirstein said on Monday.

Arrangements were also being made to repatriate the remains of a soldier killed in the shooting, as well as the body of the man blamed for the shooting, who committed suicide afterwards.

Kirstein said the United Nations and the South African military were still probing the cause of the tragedy.

The murdered soldier was identified as Rifleman Bashain Sejake, 30. Rifleman Ingongo Gasa, 30, allegedly killed himself after the shooting.

"Rifleman Bashain Sejake, who died at the place where the shooting took place, is survived by his wife," Kirstein said. Sejake was from Lawley in Gauteng.

"Rifleman Ingongo Gasa, who apparently killed himself after the shooting incident, is survived by his sister," Kirstein said. Gasa was from Botha's Hill, KwaZulu-Natal.

Gasa allegedly opened fire on his comrades at the Palace Base in Bujumbura before shooting himself on Friday.

Discipline not 'where it should be'

All the soldiers involved were members of 4 SA Infantry Battalion, based at Middelburg in Mpumalanga.

An SA Army source at the weekend said observed discipline within the unit was not "where it should be".

Institute for Security Studies military analyst Henri Boshoff said shootings of this type were an "international tendency" and could be linked to emotional problems experienced by soldiers while on lengthy deployments.

Other triggers included family problems and excessive drinking.

South African troops serving with UN peacekeeping missions serve an uninterrupted six months tour of duty.

- SAPA