Military

DATE=1/2/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BURUNDI / MILITARY (L-O)

NUMBER=2-311423

BYLINE=CATHY MAJTENYI

DATELINE=NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Former rebels in Burundi are to be fully integrated into the national army by the end of next week. Cathy Majtenyi reports from V-O-A's east Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

TEXT: Rebels who were once fighting Burundi's government soldiers will, as of January 7th, be fighting side-by-side with them.

Under terms of a peace agreement, the Burundi government and the rebel Forces for the Defense of Democracy, or F-D-D, signed late last year, the Hutu rebels are now integrated into the national army.

In his New Year's Day speech, President Domitien Ndayizeye announced that by January 7th, 40 percent of the army's leadership will be made up of former F-D-D rebels.

According to the French news agency, the F-D-D welcomed the move as a crucial step for the beginnings of a new army.

But there is another Hutu rebel group, the National Liberation Forces, or F-N-L, that has not been part of the peace agreement and that still attacks the government army, F-D-D members and civilians.

Hours before the president's address, a civilian was killed in heavy fighting on New Year's eve in the capital, Bujumbura. Three civilians and four soldiers were also injured in the attack, which the government blamed on the F-N-L, according to the French news agency.

The F-N-L also is widely believed to have been behind last week's killing of the Vatican's representative in Burundi, Monsignor Michael Courtney, 50 kilometers south of Bujumbura. (SIGNED)

NEB/CM/ALW/KL/TW