Rebel activity displaces hundreds in Bubanza

Residents of 700 households, or about 4,000 people, have fled their homes in the northwest Burundi province of Bubanza following raids by suspected members of the country's last active rebel group, a government official said.

"For the time being, security is not good at all. Some residents have been beaten, while others have had their property looted," the governor of Bubanza, Pascal Nyabenda, told IRIN.

He said Forces nationales de libération (FNL) fighters had raided homes in Bubanza from their hideouts in the nearby Kibira and Rukoko forests. Those displaced were spending the nights in the compound of a local parish, venturing out for a few hours during the day to work in their fields, Nyabenda said.

He accused the FNL fighters of violating an agreement that required them to regroup in such locations as Kagirigiri, Masha and Nyenkarange.

On 3 September, residents of Buterere commune near the Burundian capital were forced to flee their homes after clashes broke out between rival FNL factions. The fighting left at least 20 rebels dead, before an uneasy calm returned to the area.

Nyabenda said some of the fighters involved in the clashes in Buterere had come from Bubanza.

FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana acknowledged that some FNL combatants had engaged in looting in Bubanza, but accused the international community of "failure to provide the pledged support", including food, clothing and medicines to the rebel group, under the stalled peace agreement.

He called for a change to the mediation team led by the South African security minister Charles Nqakula, saying he had failed to ensure the FNL received what it had been promised. African Union representative Mamadou Ba, however, ruled out any changes in the mediation team.

Nqakula rejected the FNL allegations and said the mediators were ensuring the safety of its leaders who attended peace talks with the government in Bujumbura.

The FNL, led by Agathon Rwasa, is the last active rebel movement in the country, despite signing a ceasefire agreement with the government in September 2006.

On 17 June, President Pierre Nkurunziza met Rwasa in Tanzania and agreed to reactivate that peace deal and to free FNL members imprisoned in Burundi. Critics say the agreement mainly addressed security issues, but was silent on power-sharing arrangements, yet the FNL has indicated it wanted a share of government positions.

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