Rebels, army accuse each other of ceasefire violations

The rebel Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) and the government army accused each other on Tuesday of numerous violations of the ceasefire agreement they signed on 2 December.

"Yesterday we used artillery to free our positions that were encircled by FDD rebels on edge of the Kibira Forest in the province of Bubanza," Col Augustin Nzabampema, the army spokesman, told reporters in the capital, Bujumbura.

"We in the army have problems observing the ceasefire 100 percent because we cannot distinguish between [the CNDD-FDD] rebels of Pierre Nkurunziza, Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye and Alain Mugabarabona - the three who signed the ceasefire - from those of Agathon Rwasa [of the Front national de liberation], who did not," he added.

For its part, in a communiqué, the CNDD-FDD condemned what it described as the army’s "blind bombardments, which have been the first violation of the ceasefire agreement" signed in Arusha, Tanzania. The rebels called on the international community, the Burundi ceasefire facilitation team and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (who chaired the regional summits on Burundi) "to condemn the bombardments and urge Major Pierre Buyoya to respect, at least once, his undertakings".

However, the army said there had been other ceasefire violations. It reported fighting in Ryarusera in the central province of Muramvya over the weekend.

"Seven people were killed and several houses burnt down," Sylvestre Nimubona, the commander of the 3rd Military Region, said.

The region comprises Muramvya and the northern provinces of Kayanza and Ngozi.

According to the ceasefire agreement, the CNDD-FDD and government troops were to have stopped shooting at each other within 72 hours of the signing of the agreement.