Burundi's govt, rebels talk
2006-04-15 17:56
Bujumbura - The Burundian government sent a delegation to Tanzania on Saturday, for peace talks with the country's last remaining rebel group.
The talks are part of the Burundian government's latest bid to end 13 years of civil war in the Central African country.
Burundi's minister for information, Karenga Ramadhan, said the talks with the National Liberation Force began on Saturday afternoon in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ramadhan said: "We need to find a global and lasting peace deal."
Burundi's civil war began after the assassination of the country's first democratically elected president in 1993.
He was a Hutu, slain by Tutsi paratroopers.
The assassination set off a civil war that left 250 000 people dead, mostly civilians.
A cease-fire was reached between the Tutsi-controlled government and the main Hutu rebel group in 2003.
Hutu rebel leader, Peter Nkurunziza, was elected president in August 2005.
So far, the National Liberation Force, led by Agathon Rwasa, has refused to take part in the country's peace process.
The Burundi delegation to Tanzania was led by the president's chief of protocol Salvator Ntacobamaze.
Ramadhan said the talks would be consistent with the peace deal reached in 2003.
- AP