13 killed, thousands displaced as army battles rebels

At least 13 people were killed and thousands others displaced on Wednesday following fighting between the Burundian army and Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) rebels in Kabezi Commune, in the western province of Bujumbura Rural, an official told IRIN on Thursday. "The army was chasing FNL rebels, both sides used shells, one shell fell on my house, killing three people but I escaped," Felicien Ntahombaye, the administrator of Kabezi, said. "The fighting lasted several hours till late evening." Army spokesman Maj. Adolphe Manirakiza told IRIN that 10 rebels died in the fighting. He did not say whether there were casualties on the army side. Ntahombaye said several people were wounded when shells hit a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the commune. "The situation caused panic among the people and tens of thousands of Kabezi residents have fled in different directions, some towards the neighbouring commune of Muhuta," he said. Ntahombaye added that gunshots could still be heard early Thursday, making intervention impossible. "The people have fled, the area is not accessible, and I don't know what their situation is," he said. "I am now busy organising the burial of the people who were killed." He said that he would contact army authorities in the area to find out how the displaced could be helped. "If the situation improves, we will ask them to go back home, otherwise humanitarian assistance will be needed as most of the people fled without anything," he said. The FNL faction led by Agathon Rwasa is the only rebel movement that has not signed a ceasefire agreement with the transitional government of Burundi, and continues to stage sporadic attacks against the army. Rwasa's FNL is active in Bujumbura Rural, the province surrounding the capital, Bujumbura. Due to frequent attacks, large sections of the population in the province are often displaced, complicating intervention by humanitarian actors as it could take days before IDPs received any aid.