A Burundian army officer accused of leading a crackdown on opposition forces was shot dead by a soldier on Tuesday at the army headquarters, military sources told AFP.

Lieutenant Colonel Darius Ikurakure, seen as playing a key role in a wave of disappearances of opposition supporters, was shot at lunchtime in Bujumbura by an unknown soldier who escaped.

“It is unfortunately true,” said a senior army official, who asked not to be named. There was no immediate official response.

Hundreds have been killed and almost half a million people have left Burundi since President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial decision last April to run for a third term.