Commissioner denies supporting Burundi rebels

Tanzania’s commissioner for the Kagera region, General Tumanene Kiwelu, on Wednesday denied claims that Tanzania was assisting Burundi rebels, the BBC Kirundi service reported. Kiwelu, who was visiting Burundi refugee camps in western Tanzania, said his country “has never assisted Burundi rebels and it has no such plan”. On Tuesday, the private Burundi news agency Azania reported that Burundi rebels were trading with Tanzanian soldiers to acquire arms. It quoted a former rebel captive as saying intense fighting in southern Burundi had caught the rebels “unawares” and they ran out of ammunition. “As a result, the rebels have been stealing cows to exchange for ammunition with Tanzanian soldiers,” he reportedly said.