Seven international NGOs in Burundi have condemned the abduction of three humanitarian workers in two separate incidents in the southern Makamba Province. Following the abductions on 9 and 10 July, the three NGOs that employed the workers have suspended their operations in Makamba. The three are the German Technical Cooperation, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). In a statement, the NGOs the Agro Action Allemande, Flyktningeradet, Handicap International, IRC, Penal Reform International, Solidarites and World Vision, sought the support of the government and people of Burundi in ensuring the safety of their workers to enable them continue to carry out their humanitarian missions. “As a collective body of organisation dedicated to providing humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations, we deplore the abduction of our colleagues and any form of harassment directed towards our staff members,” they said in the document. At the same time, international human rights organisation Amnesty International condemned on Tuesday what it said were “serious” human rights abuses committed by government and rebels troops during the past week’s fighting in the southern suburbs of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. Full Story