Thousands displaced by rebel fighting need aid, official says

An estimated 3,500 civilians, displaced on Saturday when fighting broke between two rebel groups in Burundi's Bujumbura Rural Province, need urgent aid as they wait to return to their homes, a local official told IRIN. "We have contacted our traditional partners for assistance, we call upon humanitarian organisations to assist these people before the end of fighting," Ignace Ntawembarira, the governor of Bujumbura Rural, said on Tuesday. He said the displaced needed food and medicine. They fled to the compound of the Mubimbi communal office following fighting between Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) rebels. "We've registered between 3,000 and 3,500 at the commune office, they are waiting for the fighting to end in order to return to their homes," Ntawembarira said. On Monday Home Affairs and Public Security Minister Salvator Ntihabose said at a news conference that the government had asked Bujumbura Rural provincial authorities to help the displaced who were waiting for assistance from humanitarian organisations. The minister said the two rebel groups were also fighting each other in the northwestern province of Bubanza, a region affected by repeated fighting between the army and rebel groups. "I cannot yet tell you why the two rebel movements are fighting each other," Ntihabose said.