“Anxious but calm” situation in Bujumbura

Bujumbura, meanwhile, was described as “anxious but calm” following gunshots and grenade explosions heard in the town and its outskirts on Sunday night. “People are waiting to know what will happen in Arusha,” a humanitarian official told IRIN. “Last evening [Sunday] between 18:00 and 24:00 hours shootings and grenade explosions were heard,” she said. “This morning [Monday], not so many people came to work fearing that there would be skirmishes but nothing has happened so far,” she added. Press reports said many people did not go to work on Monday and the city was quiet. The authorities are taking no chances, however. Leading Tutsis opposed to the agreement and who had called for demonstrations remained behind bars and police swiftly broke up a demonstration against the accord, organised by a group opposed to the Arusha process, called as Buyoya flew to the northern Tanzanian town.