Burundi arrests senior opposition politician over 'armed gangs' link

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza attends the ruling Conseil National pour la Defense de la Democratie - Forces pour Defense de la Democratie (CNDD-FDD) party extraordinary congress in Gitega Province, Burundi, August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Evrard Ngendakumana

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - The head of one of Burundi's opposition parties has been arrested for collaborating with "armed gangs", police said on Thursday, joining a list of activists and political figures detained since the start of a political crisis.

Gervais Niyongabo, chairman of FEDES-SANGIRA, was detained in the southern Makamba region on Wednesday, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye wrote on his Twitter account.