We investigate the effect of exposure to violent conflict on human capital accumulation in Burundi. We combine a nationwide household survey with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Only 20% of the birth cohorts studied (1971-1986) completed primary education. Depending on specification we find that the probability to complete primary schooling for a boy exposed to violent conflict declined by 6 to 16 percentage points compared to a non-exposed boy. We also find that exposure to violent conflict reduces the gender-gap in schooling, but only for girls from non-poor households. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact of conflict on schooling is felt. Our results are robust to various specifications and estimation methods.