DATE=9/21/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=BURUNDI KILLINGS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254133
BYLINE=JENNIFER WIENS
DATELINE=NAIROBI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Burundi, 13 civilians and five rebel
fighters are dead after a round of Hutu attacks
over the last few days. The new casualties come
as peace talks aimed at stopping Burundi's civil
unrest are adjourned. Jennifer Wiens has more
from V-O-A's East Africa bureau.
TEXT: Hutu rebels and the Burundi army clashed
for three days in a suburb of the capital,
Bujumbura, according to Burundi state radio and
an army spokesman. Hutu fighters attacked the
district of Mutanga, less than five kilometers
from the President's residence, and downtown
Bujumbura, late on Saturday, killing five
civilians. The army then battled back,
exchanging light arms fire with the rebels all
through Sunday and into Monday, eventually
driving the Hutu militia out of the city.
/// OPT ///
The army says it killed five of the rebel
fighters. One army soldier was reported wounded.
Two houses in Mutanga were burned down.
There was also trouble in another part of
Burundi. In a separate incident on Saturday,
rebel fighters attacked civilians in Makamba
province, south of Bujumbura near the Tanzanian
border. Eight people were killed, around five-
hundred more fled the area.
/// END OPT ///
These latest casualties add to the 200-thousand
people already estimated to have died in
Burundi's six-year-long civil war. The conflict
has pitted militia groups from the majority
ethnic Hutus against the government and the army,
both heavily dominated by Burundi's minority
Tutsi ethnic group.
The Hutu rebels say they don't want there to be
any power-sharing in Burundi's government with
the Tutsis. They say Tutsis assassinated the
country's first democratically elected president,
a Tutu, in 1993. The two sides have been battling
ever since, with civilians from both ethnic
groups bearing the brunt of the casualties.
East African mediators are trying to negotiate an
end to the fighting. Peace talks in Tanzania have
been going on since last June, and Burundi's
President Pierre Buyoya has given signs he
intends to make peace with the rebels.
But the latest round of negotiations, which ended
Saturday, were not successful. Official mediator,
Mark Bomani, declared the speed of progress as
far from satisfactory, and urged the groups
involved to show more commitment and waste less
time.
The deadline for a final agreement was also
pushed back. Originally set for August, it has
now been postponed until December. That means the
Hutu rebels and the Burundi army may still be
fighting for several months to come. (SIGNED)
NEB/JW/GE/LTD/
21-Sep-1999 11:02 AM EDT (21-Sep-1999 1502 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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