AU, UN call on rebels to join peace process

The African Union (AU), the continent's foremost political body, has joined the United Nations Security Council in condemning Hutu rebels for their indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Burundi. In a statement released on Thursday, AU Interim Chairman Amara Essy appealed to "all armed groups" to join the peace process. His call came a day after a similar demand by UN Security Council President Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom. "The Council was rather disturbed to hear reports of continuing violence in Burundi, including attacks on Bujumbura itself, with mortar shells and rockets being fired into the town," he said. Council members, he added, were also concerned about mines being laid on countryside roads, and critical of arms flows to the rebel groups inside Burundi. Officials in Bujumbura, the Burundian capital, have lately been vocal in their charges that Tanzania has been aiding the two Hutu rebel groups in Burundi. However, Tanzania has always denied the accusation. Rebels have been stepping up their attacks since the formation of a power-sharing government on 1 November 2001, by Hutus and Tutsis. The attacks have gathered further momentum as regional leaders try to convene a cease-fire meeting for 6 August, between the rebels and the government. AFP reported on Thursday that at least 41 civilian died in a day of fighting between the army and the rebels around Bujumbura. News reports quoted local officials as saying that since the fighting began on 23 July in Kabezi commune, 18 km south of Bujumbura, between 40,000 and 50,000 people had been displaced.