Rebels attack Burundi capital

2003-07-10 11:04

Bujumbura - At least two people were killed on Wednesday when mortars slammed into the heart of the Burundi capital.

The rebel group blamed for the attacks said it would not stop them until the interim power-sharing government quits.

Government and local officials, the army, and Bujumbura residents all blamed Hutu rebels from the National Liberation Forces (FNL), who launched a massive offensive on the capital two days ago, for the rocket attacks.

Local government official Gilbert Burange said: "The FNL has changed tactics and is firing missiles on the city centre."

One of the mortars, reportedly fired from hills to the east of Bujumbura, exploded in the inner courtyard of the central bank, where laborers were building a wall. Two were killed and two injured, along with a bank employee, said witnesses.

At the central marketplace in the heart of Bujumbura, another rocket struck a stall on Wednesday, causing people to flee in panic and sending debris flying.

Two people were slightly injured in that attack, said a police officer in charge of security at the market.

"As soon as the first missile hit in the city centre, we evacuated the market - and, just in time," he said.

Robust counter-attack

Six rockets struck the Burundi capital within half an hour on Wednesday, according to city officials, and by midday, about 20 mortars had rained down on the city. Most of them caused only material damage, they said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the army had launched a robust counter-attack, bombarding rebel positions in hills 10km east of Bujumbura from two attack helicopters.

Residents in the capital reported hearing a loud explosion - described by some as the most powerful since the start of Burundi's civil war in 1993 - as the army pounded rebel outposts.

The army and government have accused the FNL of teaming up with Burundi's largest Hutu rebel group, Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), for the latest assault on the capital, launched before dawn on Monday.

At least 28 people, including 17 rebels, are reported to have died so far in the fighting.

But the FDD, which was one of three rebel groups to sign a ceasefire pact with the government in December, has denied any part in the fighting, saying it does not share the rival rebel group's objectives.

FNL states its demands

The FNL, which was not party to the December truce, vowed on Wednesday to continue its offensive on the capital until President Domitien Ndayizeye and his government stood down.

Pateur Habimana of the FNL said: "We demand that President Ndayizeye and his government quit, that the transition parliament be dissolved, before negotiations can be organised between the Hutu and Tutsi communities.

"This is the condition we set for stopping our attack on Bujumbura."

The FNL has steadfastly refused to hold talks with the government, even under Ndayizeye, a Hutu, who took over as president from Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, in April for the second 18 months of an interim power-sharing regime.

Last week, the rebel group renewed its vow to never negotiate with the government and threatened to "wage war without mercy", dismissing an appeal by Ndayizeye to come to the negotiating table.

It said then that it had rejected talks because Ndayizeye had decided to bolster the armed forces' defence capabilities, a decision the rebels said amounted to a declaration of war.

Burundi's armed forces are dominated by Tutsis, the ethnic minority in the country who also dominated political life until the new interim government was set up.

Habimana said on Monday as the rebels launched their attack: "We are coming to Bujumbura and we are going to stay there until our Tutsi brothers agree to negotiate directly with us."

The blast at the bank on Wednesday left a deep crater at the base of one of the walls the workers were erecting and showered the surrounding area with debris, and the ground was stained with blood.

Shortly after Wednesday's explosion at the marketplace, crowds of panicked people were running in all directions.

Some who were sprawled on the ground were trampled underfoot in the stampede to flee the attacks, said a correspondent at the market.

Sylvestre Rutwe, in charge of security at Bujumbura city hall, said the casualty toll at the market, usually packed with about 20 000 shoppers, was unknown.

- AFX