 And to all the parts of Africa, the European Union EU says it would restart giving financial aid to Burundi following a similar step last year by the United States, drawing an angry response from the government's critics in 2016 to European Union at the time Burundi's biggest aid donors suspended all direct funding to the government for ignoring human rights and failing to stop a wave of deadly violence. The EU in a statement acknowledged that the persistent challenges remain in the areas of human right and good governance, reconciliation and the rule of law.