Rebels attack three suburbs
2003-07-07 12:59
Bujumbura - Hutu rebels fighting a nearly 10-year civil war in this central African nation attacked three southern suburbs of Bujumbura on Monday, rebel and army officials said.
The rebels of the largest faction of the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, attacked Musaga, Kinindo, Kanyosha about 04:00 and heavy gunfire could be heard for about five hours, residents said.
There were no details of casualties, but sporadic gunfire was heard later on Monday.
The insurgents attacked Bujumbura to "show the army that we are able to come to Bujumbura and we can stay there as long as we want", said rebel spokesperson Pasteur Habimana.
Army spokesperson Colonel Augustin Nzabampema said government troops were pursuing the rebels, but said the situation was "not clear".
It was the first attack on the lakeside capital since April when rebels fired dozens of rockets into Bujumbura.
The civil war erupted in October 1993 after Tutsi paratroopers assassinated the country's first democratically elected president, Hutu Melchior Ndadaye.
At least 200 000 people, most of them civilians, have died in the conflict.
Despite being in the minority, Tutsis have effectively controlled the tiny central African nation for all but a few months since independence in 1962.
A transitional administration took office November 1, 2001 after Hutu and Tutsi political parties signed a power-sharing accord that was supposed to end the war. But the rebels did not take part in that peace process and fighting continued.
Two small rebel factions signed cease-fire agreements last October, but the main faction of the FNL, which operates in the hills surrounding Bujumbura, has refused to halt fighting.
The largest rebel group, the Forces for the Defense of Democracy, signed a cease-fire in December, but it has also continued fighting.
The three-year transitional government entered its second and final phase on May 1 when Domitien Ndayizeye, a Hutu, took over the presidency from Pierre Buyoya, a member of the Tutsi minority.
The main rebel factions said the transition would not affect their positions.
- AP