Parties ask for time to solve leadership crisis

Burundi groups have asked the Burundi peace facilitator, Nelson Mandela, to give them three to four days, “but not more than a week, to discuss the question and find a solution” to the question of who should lead a proposed three-year transitional period in the country. “We are still studying ways to find a solution for the question,” the BBC quoted FRODEBU leader Jean Minani as saying on Wednesday. “Burundians, journalists and the international community should remain patient. We are trying to find a solution,” he said. “Although some people seem to move unwillingly, the majority of us and most Burundians want to find a solution,” he added. “What I can say is that we have not had a breakthrough,” Minani said. The Paris donor conference for Burundi ended on Tuesday with donors asking for the setting up of a transitional institution and the appointment of its leader before they could disburse US $440 million they promised Burundi, the BBC stated.