Explosions tore through Bujumbura late Tuesday after a fire engulfed the military arsenal, killing at least 13 people, the army announced.
Another 57 people were wounded, including three soldiers, as smoke and chaos swept through the Burundian economic capital.
“Houses were damaged in various neighbourhoods, private vehicles destroyed, and military equipment completely burned,” said army spokesperson General Gaspard Baratuza.
The blasts erupted at the main ammunition depot of the Burundi National Defence Force in Musaga, a crowded southern suburb of the city.
The army confirmed civilian deaths but did not clarify if any soldiers died, while earlier security sources suggested higher casualties.
Authorities attributed the incident to an “electrical accident,” according to an army spokesman, though eyewitnesses described terrifying, successive detonations.
Videos from the scene showed thick smoke clouds looming over Bujumbura, spreading panic through a city of more than a million residents.
A senior police officer said the explosions occurred where heavy weapons were stored, causing massive detonations that shook the surrounding neighbourhoods.
The Musaga arsenal adjoins the Higher Institute for Military Cadres and is close to Muha military camp and central Mpimba prison.
A prison source reported that eight inmates were killed, with several others injured and evacuated by the Red Cross to hospitals.
Local observers noted that initial casualty figures remain uncertain, while a Western diplomat expressed doubts about transparent communication from authorities.
Social media posts and online bloggers reported multiple civilian deaths and children missing, as residents fled from fire-triggered projectiles at night.
Firefighters struggled to control the blaze due to a water shortage, leaving parts of the base camp reduced to ashes.
President Evariste Ndayishimiye expressed sympathy on X, urging citizens to report unexploded munitions and warning people not to touch them.
The disaster comes amid Burundi’s ongoing economic crisis, with the country ranked by the World Bank as the world’s poorest by GDP per capita.