Cantonment postponed as fighters seek aid for their families

Cantonment of 285 fighters loyal to the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) faction led by Alain Mugabarabona was postponed on Monday after they refused to go to the cantonment area saying they first had to be assured that aid would be provided to their families. "When we signed the ceasefire accord [with the government], we agreed that our combatants would be cantoned with the families," Charles Kabagambe, the FNL spokesman, told IRIN on Monday. He said that the fighters had been ready to be cantoned at Muyange, 30 km northwest of the capital, Bujumbura, but gave up when they learnt that NGOs that were to help their families were not yet in place. This is the second time cantonment has been postponed. The African Union, which has deployed a peacekeeping mission in the country and which is to oversee the demobilisation and cantonment of rebel troops, had initially stated that cantonment would begin on 6 June. However, rebel leaders made a prior tour of the Muyange cantonment area and declared that it was not ready for their fighters. Kabagambe said that officials of the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB) had initially told them to wait for 90 days as they coordinated the stationing of NGOs in the villages where their families were. He denied reports that each fighter had demanded US $3,000 in order to be cantoned. "The information is wrong, the fighters have only asked for the survival of their families. In fact we have now suggested that only unmarried fighters should be cantoned," he said. The main FNL faction, led by Agathon Rwasa, had accused Mugabarabona's faction of bringing its Burundian combatants who have been fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an allegation Kabagambe denied. "The chiefs of fighters who assessed the situation at Muyange are the same ones who have always been attending the different meetings with technical teams of the African peace mission. We do not have fighters in DRC, all are in Burundi", Kabagambe said. Meanwhile, the smaller of the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) factions, led by Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, has confirmed that its combatants are ready to go to Muyange without any condition. "Our fighters are ready to be cantoned immediately and we will continue to discuss this issue of assisting the families of combatants in the Joint Cease fire Commission," Jerome Ndiho, the faction's spokesman, said. He added that the fighters could not be cantoned with their families. AMIB had indicated that cantonment would take place between 6 and 20 June but construction in some of the cantonment areas continue. When complete, the Muyange area is expected to accommodate 3,500 CNDD-FDD and 1,800 FNL troops.