Tanzania confirms cholera at Burundian refugee camp

Burundi's embattled President sacks his defence and foreign ministers five days after surviving an attempted coup

Burundian refugees queue to receive handout clothes in a refugee camp in Gashora, south of the capital Kigali (EPA)

Tanzania confirmed a cholera outbreak on Monday at a refugee camp sheltering thousands of people who had fled political unrest in neighbouring Burundi.

"We can confirm that there is an outbreak of cholera at the Burundi refugee camp in Tanzania," Health Ministry spokesman Nsachris Mwamwaja said.

"The Ministry of Health is sending a team of medical experts to the Burundi refugee camp in Tanzania to deal with the cholera outbreak."

Meanwhile, Burundi's embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza sacked his defence and foreign ministers, five days after surviving an attempted coup by generals opposed to his bid for a third term in office.

In a decree seen by Reuters, Nkurunziza declined to give any reasons for the dismissals. "President does not have to explain," one of his spokesmen said in a follow-up text message. "Constitution gives him powers to (do) so."

The sackings are the first signs of ructions inside Nkurunziza's administration after the attempted coup, which intensified fears a political crisis may be spiralling out of control and pitching Africa's Great Lakes region towards another bout of ethnic conflict.

REUTERS