NAIROBI, July 2, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Six people accused of witchcraft were killed, burned alive, stoned or beaten by a militia in Burundi, a local official told AFP on Wednesday.

The official and witnesses, who all asked for anonymity, said the incident happened on Monday after accusations made by members of the ruling party's powerful youth movement, known as the Imbonerakure.

The group is described as a militia by the United Nations and rights organisations. 

"A group of young Imbonerakure entered the homes of about 10 people accused of witchcraft. They then attacked them," according to the official from Gasarara Hill, 10 kilometres (six miles) east of Burundi's economic capital, Bujumbura.

"Six people were killed, two of them burned alive. The others were beaten to death with clubs or stoned with large stones thrown at their heads," the official said.

"It was horrific, unspeakable barbarity."

The official said three further people were also beaten but were ultimately rescued after police intervened. 

Several unverified videos have circulated on social media since Tuesday. 

Some of the clips were authenticated to AFP by two witnesses, who also identified the group as the Imbonerakure. 

Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have accused the Imbonerakure of killing and torturing dozens of people, particularly under the authoritarian rule of former president Pierre Nkurunziza, in power from 2005 until 2020.

Bujumbura provincial governor Desire Nsengiyumva said on Tuesday that 12 people had been arrested over the incident.

He denounced the "unacceptable mob justice", saying locals had wrongly attributed recent unexplained deaths to the victims. 

The tiny nation is predominantly Christian, and traditional beliefs are deeply rooted with unexplained deaths often blamed on witchcraft.

Only last year, the Supreme Court sentenced a former prime minister to life imprisonment for charges "including using witchcraft to threaten the president's life, destabilising the economy and illegal enrichment".