BURUNDI


Hotspot Micro-Report

The situation in Burundi remains
fragile amidst deteriorating security where fighting between government and
rebel troops has spread to 16 out of Burundi’s 17 provinces.  These areas
are facing looting, banditry, and armed fighting and hundreds of thousands have
been internally displaced and others have sought refuge in neighboring
countries. Inside Burundi, the civilian population remains at risk with aid
agencies unable to provide assistance to civilians in the conflict zones. Both
rebel and government troops have deliberately attacked civilians, rape has
begun to emerge as a weapon of war, and child soldiers are used by both rebel
and government troops.

 The civil war in Burundi has
claimed over 300,000 lives since it started in 1993. The war was sparked by the
assassination of the nation’s first democratically elected president, Melchior
Ndadaye. It was hoped that a ceasefire signed in December 2002, which brought
together 19 Hutu and Tusti parties would bring the conflict to an end. Fighting
however continues between rebels and government troops.  The rebels
rejected a ceasefire that ushered in a new Hutu-led administration that took
over from President Pierre Buyoya in May this year.

The capital Bujumbura has since the 7^th of July, been subject to
mortar attacks by two rebel groups- the CNDD-FDD and the FNL-Rwasa faction. To
date, over 174 people have been killed in the mortar attacks and over 40,000
civilians displaced in the latest fighting in Bujumbura.

Recently, President Domitien Ndayizeye declared the
government’s intention to bolster the army in its efforts to defend Burundians.
This is seen as a response to the lack of implementation of the ceasefire
agreement where three out of four rebel groups currently fighting are
signatories to the agreement. The FNL (a non-signatory to the Arusha accords)
shows no signs of coming to the negotiating table, with statements issued
stating their refusal to negotiate with the current government regardless of
concessions or conditions. 

Burundi has a history of ethnically based massacres.
While the current government has begun to introduce ethnically equitable power
sharing, the situation warrants close monitoring to ensure that there are no
renewed genocidal type massacres.

• Rape as a weapon (UN IRIN, HRW)

• Forcible recruitment of children under 18 years (UN IRIN, Reuters, Coalition
  to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers)

• Deliberate targeting of civilians (UN IRIN, Amnesty International)

• Extra-judicial killings (Amnesty International, Reuters)

1. International Press/Media

2. Embassies

3. International Human Rights NGOs

4. International Relief NGOs

IRIN



Rebel Leaders Set
Conditions for Cantonment

June 4, 2003


http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34588&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=BURUNDI

Halfway Through
Transitional Period, Peace Remains Elusive


May 30, 2003


http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34417

AFP

Burundi Rebels Threaten to Attack African Peacekeepers

May 26, 2003



http://www.reliefweb.int/w/Rwb.nsf/s/59CBFE4DD67E3274C1256D32005F6951

HRW

Transition in Burundi: Time to deliver

April 30, 2003



http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/burundi/burundi043003-bck.htm 



Fighting Intensifies Amid Power Shift

April 30, 2003



http://hrw.org/press/2003/04/burundi043003.htm 

NEWS 24

Three killed in Burundi rebel attacks

March 19, 2003



http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1349529,00.html 

Unwilling Burundi parties not peace
loving, says Zuma

Feburary 12, 2003



http://www.gov.za/search97cgi/s97_cgi 

The Devil is in the Details/

February 9, 2003



http://www.burundirealite.org/pol01_e.html