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Rebels quit ceasefire team
27/03/2007 22:19 - (SA)
Bujumbura - Burundi's last Hutu rebels quit a ceasefire monitoring team on Tuesday, saying government forces had not been withdrawn from areas under their control.
The team, which grouped government officials and members of the Forces for National Liberation (FNL) rebels, began work last month, stirring hopes of lasting peace after years of civil war.
"It was agreed in the ceasefire deal that just after the signing of the ceasefire all government troops will have to quit zones where there are FNL fighters, but this was not respected," FNL spokesperson Pasteur Habimana told a local radio station.
"We will not resume our participation in the ceasefire monitoring team until this is done."
The FNL signed a truce with the government in September, but then refused to join the ceasefire monitoring team until its fighters were given immunity and some freed from jail.
The government accused the rebels of trying to sabotage the peace deal, saying there was no such provision in the text.
"The issue they are bringing today is not in the ceasefire agreement," said a government spokesperson.
"This is an excuse and we ask ourselves if the FNL has a hidden agenda to resume war."
The FNL is the last holdout from more than a decade of civil war that killed 300 000 people. Its persistent insurgency has been seen as a final bar to stability the nation of seven million.
- Reuters
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