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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

BURUNDI: African force at full strength with arrival of Mozambicans

NAIROBI, 20 October 2003 (IRIN) - Mozambique has sent another 91 troops to Bujumbura, bringing the African peacekeeping mission in Burundi to full strength, Burundi National Radio and Television, or RTNB, reported on Sunday.

They arrived on Saturday to join their 139 countrymen, as well as the Ethiopians and South Africans already in Burundi that make up the force of 3,128 peacekeepers. The BBC reported that the head of the African Union Mission in Burundi (AMIB), Mamadou Bah, welcomed the Mozambicans at Bujumbura's airport.

"The force is now complete for the requested contingent," Reuters quoted him as saying.

AMIB's mission is to help disarm, demobilise and reintegrate into society all rebel troops and to monitor the country's transition to democracy after 10 years of war. The troop deployment should ease the way for greater humanitarian delivery to the country's displaced and war affected population.

"We are ready to deploy the contingent in the countryside for the task it was called here for," Reuters reported Bah as saying.

Deployment of the peacekeepers has been beset by funding difficulties and logistics problems within a demobilisation centre. The United States has financed the deployment of the Ethiopian contingent and Britain has paid for the Mozambicans. The Mozambican Ministry of Defence announced on 15 October that the government in Maputo would spend at least US $14 million to support its contingent over the next 12 months, with some of this money coming from donors such as Britain, France and the United States.

So far, just one demobilisation centre has been set up - at Muyange, 30 km northwest of Bujumbura. Although it is intended to hold up to 3,000 combatants, it now houses 191 former fighters of the smaller factions of the two rebel groups: the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie of Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, and the Forces nationales de liberation of Alain Mugabarabona. The larger FNL faction, led by Agathon Rwasa, has opted to continue the war.

Nevertheless, there have been renewed hopes for peace since a ceasefire implementation and power-sharing deal was signed on 8 October between the main CNDD-FDD faction, lead by Pierre Nkurunziza, and the government.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

[ENDS]

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