Rebels step up attacks

Rebels in Burundi have stepped up attacks in various parts of the country as the government forces are “trying their best” to counter their efforts. “There has been some intensification in rebel activities in certain pockets of the country in the last few days,” a UN security official in Burundi told IRIN on Friday. “Even today [Friday] there are reports of an attack though I have no details as yet,” he noted. “But, the situation is the same as last month, and is still under control.” He said there were roads out of Bujumbura which were often prone to attacks, “and we have been alerted to pay particular attention to such”. He confirmed that with the dismantlement of camps, there have been “a couple of instances” of attacks on areas to where people have returned.

Local media in Burundi have reported several attacks in different parts of the country which left at least 10 people dead. The Azania news agency reported on Wednesday that fighting in the Mutambu-Kabezi sector of Bujumbura Rural had followed the beginning of the third phase of the disbanding of regroupment camps by government authorities. It reported that government forces attacked a rebel hideout in Muhwazi in Ruyigi province in eastern Burundi in an attack which targeted a rebel training centre. In another attack, government soldiers surrounded Mutambu in Bujumbura Rural early on Tuesday, killing six rebels and losing two soldiers. On Tuesday night, in the Kayogoro commune trading centre of Makamba province, six people were killed in an attack.