Burundi’s army has confirmed that 13 civilians were killed and 57 others wounded after a series of powerful explosions ripped through a major military ammunition depot in the capital, Bujumbura. Among the injured were at least three soldiers, though the army has not reported any military fatalities.

The blasts erupted late at night at the main arsenal of the Burundi National Defence Force in Musaga, a densely populated southern suburb of Bujumbura. The depot sits next to the Higher Institute for Military Cadres, a key training center where future officers live and study, and within meters of tightly packed residential streets.

Witnesses described a terrifying chain of detonations that lit up the sky and sent shockwaves across the neighborhood. Families fled their homes in darkness as shells and debris rained down, some residents seeking shelter in churches and schools on higher ground. Others spent the night in the open, fearing further explosions.

Local hospitals and clinics were quickly overwhelmed as ambulances, private cars and motorbikes ferried the wounded from Musaga and surrounding districts. Medical staff treated shrapnel injuries, burns and trauma caused by collapsing walls and shattered glass.

The proximity of the depot to civilian homes has intensified public anger and raised urgent questions about how and where Burundi stores its munitions. Community leaders and rights groups have long warned that large stockpiles of ammunition in urban areas pose a grave risk to civilians, particularly in a country with a history of political unrest and armed conflict.

Army officials have appealed for calm, urging residents not to touch any unexploded shells or fragments scattered by the blasts and to report them immediately to security forces. Specialists have been deployed to search for unstable ordnance and secure the perimeter of the depot.

Authorities say they are assessing the full extent of the damage and have reinforced security in neighborhoods around Musaga. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the explosions, with officials not ruling out an accidental fire or technical failure inside the depot.

The incident has renewed debate over military safety standards in Burundi and the broader region, where aging ammunition stockpiles, poor storage conditions and limited oversight have repeatedly led to deadly depot explosions in crowded cities.