DATE=2/9/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=BURUNDI FIGHTING (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258983
BYLINE=TODD PITMAN
DATELINE=BUJUMBURA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Rebels in the central African nation of
Burundi attacked a neighborhood on the outskirts of
the capital. As Todd Pitman reports from Bujumbura,
officials say at least four-people died in the
incident.
TEXT: Witnesses say a band of Hutu rebels wearing
military uniforms launched the attack on Kibenga, a
middle-class suburb on the southern outskirts of the
capital.
Residents reported the sound of gunfire and grenade
explosions just after midnight. When it was over, at
least two civilians were confirmed dead and another
injured.
Residents say a number of houses were looted before
the attackers fled across a river toward Kanyosha, a
sprawling neighborhood southeast of the capital.
State radio said security forces pursing the rebels
killed at least one of the attackers, but not before a
small child in Kanyosha had been killed.
Last year, rebels launched a wave of attacks on the
outskirts of Bujumbura, causing a panic in the city.
The attacks caused authorities to herd about 350-
thousand people into more than 50-camps in hills
around the capital as part of a counter-insurgency
measure it says was aimed at protecting civilians and
separating them from rebel fighters.
The forced nature of the policy known as - regroupment
- has been harshly criticized by the international
community, which has called for the government to
close the camps.
Wednesday's attack comes just two-days after
authorities began to dismantle the first of 11-sites
it said could be closed because security conditions
had improved. (SIGNED)
NEB/TP/GE/RAE
09-Feb-2000 10:26 AM EDT (09-Feb-2000 1526 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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