Annan dismayed over renewed fighting

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed dismay over the resumption of fighting in Burundi which has led to the displacement of some 50,000 people and the death of at least 40 around the capital Bujumbura. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Annan said he was concerned the violence would exacerbate an already precarious humanitarian situation in which the incidence of malaria and malnutrition had reached alarming proportions. He called for an immediate halt to the fighting and respect for international humanitarian and human rights law. He also underlined the need for UN agencies, the ICRC and NGOs to have "full and unfettered" access to provide humanitarian assistance to the population.

After a slight lull, there was an upsurge of fighting on Thursday with the rebel Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) reportedly firing mortar shells into the city's northern suburbs. The Agence burundaise de presse (ABP) said one person was killed in the predominantly-Tutsi suburb of Ngagara, near Kamenge and Kinama where much of the fighting has taken place, when a shell fell into the area.

Government spokesman Luc Rukingama described the attacks - which have been going on since Saturday night - as acts of banditry and terrorism. In a statement, reported by Burundi radio, he urged the population to remain vigilant. "The government condemns this indescribable barbarism and asks the national and international communities to do everything they can in order to discourage this violence," he said on Thursday. "The government has taken all steps to bring the security situation back to normal as soon as possible."