Gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead a former Burundian security chief who was a close ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza yesterday, the presidency and witnesses said, heightening tensions after a disputed presidential poll.

General Adolphe Nshimirimana, who was in charge of the president’s personal security at the time of his death, was killed in a car alongside three of his bodyguards in the Kamenge district of the capital Bujumbura, the sources said.

Witnesses said the four attackers wore military fatigues and sprayed the car with bullets, then drove off shortly after 8am (0600 GMT). The army and police were unavailable for comment.