NGOs protest kidnap of three humanitarian workers

Seven international NGOs in Burundi have condemned the abduction of three humanitarian workers in two separate incidents in the southern Makamba Province. Following the abductions on 9 and 10 July, the three NGOs that employed the workers have suspended their operations in Makamba. The three are the German Technical Cooperation, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). In a statement, the NGOs the Agro Action Allemande, Flyktningeradet, Handicap International, IRC, Penal Reform International, Solidarites and World Vision, sought the support of the government and people of Burundi in ensuring the safety of their workers to enable them continue to carry out their humanitarian missions. "As a collective body of organisation dedicated to providing humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations, we deplore the abduction of our colleagues and any form of harassment directed towards our staff members," they said in the document. At the same time, international human rights organisation Amnesty International condemned on Tuesday what it said were "serious" human rights abuses committed by government and rebels troops during the past week's fighting in the southern suburbs of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. Amnesty said unless immediate preventive action was taken, indiscriminate reprisals by government forces against Hutus suspected of supporting or colluding with the rebels was likely. At least 170 people have died and thousands displaced in the fighting between Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) rebels loyal to Agathon Rwasa and the army that began on 7 July. The UN reported on Tuesday that relative calm had prevailed in the city, with internally displaced people returning to their homes. The secretary-general of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, said the government and all parties to the conflict in Burundi "must take immediate steps to prevent further human rights abuses including the killing of unarmed civilians, torture and hostage-taking". The organisation also called for regional governments and the international community to make clear to the Burundian authorities their responsibility to ensure that their forces act "in strict accordance" with international humanitarian law. It said FNL's military tactics in many cases constituted war crimes and serious human rights abuses. "They include forcing women and children to carry loot and assist in the evacuation of wounded; the use of child soldiers; and the abduction of civilians, including children," Amnesty said. The organisation detailed incidents where the fighting hit civilian objects "while ostensibly aiming for military targets". It said dozens of shells had, so far, hit civilian objects including the central market, bars, pharmacies and a bank, where at least two civilians were killed, and Mpimba central prison where around 10 detainees were wounded. Amnesty said it had received reports that the FNL had killed unarmed civilians and that government troops and carried out extrajudicial executions in several southern districts. "The violations include the reported execution of 10 labourers in Kinindo district on 7 July by government forces," Amnesty said. "The men were reportedly made to lie on the ground and shot at point blank range," Amnesty said. Amnesty said the human rights situation elsewhere in the country remained serious, with abuses attributed to all parties to the conflict. It called on regional government and the international community to engage with renewed urgency in attempts to find a solution to the crisis in Burundi "in which human rights are protected". Moreover, Amnesty requested the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo immediately on the Burundian government and all armed political groups. "This is a war on civilians," Khan said. "Governments and private companies should be clear that all parties to the conflict regularly use their weapons to kill or maim the civilian population." [The Amnesty International statement is available online at: http://web.amnesty.org/]