Rebel fighting displaces 47,500 civilians

Two weeks of fighting between two rival rebel groups has led to the displacement of an estimated 47,500 civilians in the east and northwest of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, local officials told IRIN on Thursday. "At least 43,000 people have fled their homes in Mubimbi Commune [Bujumbura Rural], some are at the commune office and others are at Kinama in Mageyo zone in Mubimbi," Ignace Ntawembarira, the governor of Bujumbura Rural, said. Fighting between Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de liberation rebel faction and soldiers loyal to the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza was also reported at Mpanda Commune in the province of Bubanza, 12 km north of Bujumbura. The Mpanda administrator, Fidele Niyonkuru, told IRIN that 4,500 civilians had been displaced by rebel fighting in the commune, and that the displaced were without food or shelter. "The people fled rebel clashes that occurred in Masha and Nyomvyi [in Mpanda] two weeks ago, and they have not returned home because security has not been restored," he said. "They are dispersed in villages and do not have food. They need aid urgently." He said some 29,000 displaced had returned to their homes and that a new request for aid for the 4,500 newly displaced people would soon be submitted to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). An official at the WFP Bujumbura office told IRIN that the agency was highly concerned by the increasing number of displaced persons as a result of continuing fighting. He said that WFP food had already reached about 18,000 displaced persons in Mpande Commune. In August, WFP also assisted 20,800 displaced people in the same commune. He added that the displaced had been receiving cereals, pulses, vegetables and vegetable cotton oil from WFP. The agency has distributed food aid to about 41,000 internally displaced people at Mubimbi Commune. WFP said that a total of 280 mt of food was delivered as emergency rations following the renewed fighting in September.