Burundi will temporarily lose it role as host to the secretariat of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), a measure taken to ensure the safety and security of staff and the continued effective functioning of the organisation.

The decision was reached yesterday as the heads of state and government convened in Luanda, Angola, for an extraordinary summit to discuss the security and humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes Region, with special focus on Burundi.

Bujumbura, Burundi has been the headquarters of the Secretariat since the orgainisation was established in May 2007.

ICGLR brings together 11 countries within the region.

The secretariat main role is to coordinate, facilitate, and monitor the implementation of ICGLR’s activities geared at attaining peace and security in the Great Lakes Region.

The heads of state decision comes after weeks of violent protests in Burundi and an attempted coup that led to over 100,000 Burundians fleeing the country mostly to Rwanda and Tanzania.

Burundi has been rocked by a wave of violent protests and an attempted coup that have led to over 100,000 Burundians fleeing the country, mostly to Rwanda and Tanzania.

More than 20 people have been killed in the riots since they began three weeks ago.

Meanwhile the summit agreed that an ICGLR delegation of Heads of state from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania visit Burundi in the coming days to evaluate the situation and contribute to the peaceful resolution of the current crisis.

It is still unclear where the secretariat will sit before normalcy resumes in Burundi.