The African Union has warned of potential "catastrophic consequences” for troubled Burundi and the wider region if rivals do not resolve political differences peacefully.

One day after the former head of Burundi’s army during its 13-year civil war was assassinated, further fuelling fears of a new conflict, AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma called for "utmost restraint” by all sides.

"This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence recorded in recent months, illustrate yet again the gravity of the situation in Burundi - and the real risk of seeing a further deterioration with catastrophic consequences both for the country itself, and for the whole region,” Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement issued yesterday.

Violence erupted in Burundi in April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza launched his now successful but controversial bid for a third term in power, despite weeks of protests and a failed coup against him.

Colonel Jean Bikomagu was gunned down on Saturday in his car by unidentified assailants in the capital Bujumbura.

Violence escalation

The murder comes less than two weeks after the assassination of top general Adolphe Nshimirimana – widely seen as the country’s de-facto internal security chief – in a rocket attack.

The day after the general's killing civil rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, who had repeatedly accused Nshimirimana of ordering the deaths of government opponents, was himself wounded in an assassination attempt.

The escalation of violence has spawned fears that the tiny country in east-central Africa could be plunged back into civil war, with many fearful of pro-government reprisals after Nshimirimana’s death.

Bikomagu was a major figure in the army during the civil war which raged between 1993 and 2006 and left at least 300,000 people dead.

Dlamini-Zuma called for the "need for dialogue and consensus to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the current crisis,” and said the AU continued to back mediation efforts led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Many people are worried at rising tensions in the capital Bujumbura, where gunfire is regularly heard at night.

Nkurunziza, a 51-year-old former sports teacher and born-again Christian, was a rebel leader during the civil war.

That war pitted rebels from the majority Hutu people against an army dominated by the minority Tutsi.

The opposition, the US and much of the international community claimed a third term violated the Arusha accords that had brought the civil war to an end.

But after months of bloodshed Nkurunziza was re-elected in July after a delayed vote which was boycotted by the opposition and condemned internationally as being neither free nor fair.

The army has been hugely divided by the crisis, with the leaders of the July coup having gone into hiding.

Top international envoys from the UN, AU, EU, Belgium and US last week called on all sides to "recommit to a transparent, inclusive, and comprehensive political dialogue.”

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Burundi crisis at a glance

On April 25, Burundi’s ruling political party in, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), announced that the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, would run for a third term in office. The announcement sparked protests by those opposed to Nkurunziza seeking a third term in office.

Critics of the president say his actions jeopardise a peace deal that has kept ethnic tensions in check since the Burundian Civil War ended in 2005 and that Nkurunziza was not constitutionally permitted to seek a third term in office; his supporters argue that his first five-year term should not count because he was elected by a parliamentary vote rather than a popular vote.

Widespread demonstrations in the capital, Bujumbura, lasted for over three weeks. This exacerbated refugee exodus, with thousands more Burundians crossing into neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and DR Congo.

As of last week, there were more than 72,000 Burundian refugees in Rwanda alone, with thousands more in Tanzania and DR Congo.

Despite a coup attempt, President Pierre Nkurunziza went on with the contested poll that he won last month.