Tension rising at Arusha

The Hirondelle news agency on Monday noted that tension was rising at the current session of peace talks in Arusha. It said the mostly-Tutsi parties, known as the G8 group, blamed "genocidal terrorist groups" for the recent violence, but also accused the government of "repression against political parties and the media". Hirondelle recalled that the 18 sides taking part in the Arusha talks have divided into three blocs - the government, parliament and internal FRODEBU; the mostly Hutu parties known as "G7"; and the Tutsi "G8" parties. The government group is reported to have threatened to pull out of the negotiations unless there was an immediate cessation of hostilities on the ground, Hirondelle said.