Three other people were also reported killed. The crash reportedly occurred in bad weather as the minister was returning to Bujumbura from a reconciliation meeting in Gitega between various parties in the Burundi conflict. The helicopter went down in the Gihinga mountains in Muramvya province.
Burundi leaders are due to hold an emergency meeting later today.
President Pierre Buyoya was to open the meeting to be attended by the government, army, national assembly, trade unions and representatives of political parties. Regional observers, however, said little real progress was expected from the meeting. 21 people executed in Kinshasa Twenty-one people accused of murder and armed robbery were executed by firing squad at the Tshatshi military camp in Kinshasa yesterday, DRC radio reported today. It said the victims were both civilians and soldiers whose appeals were rejected by President Laurent-Desire Kabila. News reports pointed out these were the first mass executions in the capital since Kabila took power.