Mortar slams into Burundi bank

2003-07-09 12:37

Bujumbura - At least two civilians were killed on Wednesday when a mortar slammed into the central bank of Burundi in the capital Bujumbura, while a second rocket attack claimed an unspecified number of victims at the central market, witnesses said.

The rocket that hit the bank was allegedly fired by Hutu rebels from the National Liberation Forces (FNL), a local official said.

It exploded in the inner courtyard of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, killing two workers and injuring two others who were putting up a wall. A bank employee was also injured, witnesses said.

The FNL launched a major offensive on the capital before dawn on Monday. At least 28 people, including 17 rebels, were reported to have been killed in the heavy fighting that ensued.

The attacks were stepped up on Tuesday, with an AFP correspondent in the southern Kanyosha district of Bujumbura reporting "ferocious" fighting there between rebels firing mortars and army troops firing tank cannons and heavy machine guns.

At the central marketplace in the heart of Bujumbura, a rocket exploded on the roof of a stall Wednesday, causing people to flee in panic and sending debris flying, an AFP correspondent on the scene said.

Two people were slightly injured in that attack, a gendarmerie officer in charge of security at the market told the AFP reporter.

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

Shortly after the explosion at the marketplace, crowds of panicked people were still running in all directions. Some, who were sprawled on the ground, were trampled underfoot in the stampede to flee the attacks, the AFP reporter said.

A total of six rockets struck the Burundi capital in the space of 30 minutes on Wednesday, according to municipal officials. The four other missiles only caused material damage, they said.

- AFX