Tensions have been mounting in the East African country of Burundi since April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would run for a third term as president. That triggered a coup that was quickly suppressed and simmering tensions that now look increasingly ready to boil over. As the violence mounts, questions are raised about the type of conflict that is emerging. The answers to those questions have powerful implications for the international response that is required.

While Burundi's constitution limits the president to two terms, Nkurunziza, who has been in office since 2005, insisted that he could run for a third because he was appointed by parliament in his first term and the two-term limit applies only to popularly-elected officials. That interpretation is disputed and a month later several army generals mounted a coup against the president while he was out of the country attending a meeting. The uprising was quickly put down and Nkurunziza handily won another term in national elections held in July.

In the wake of that victory, Nkurunziza has tried to shut down the opposition. Independent media have been closed, opponent politicians have been killed or forced to flee, and neighborhoods known to be strongholds of forces opposed to the president raided by security forces. That has not stopped the opposition, however. Violence continues to spread.