“War the only option left” - officials

Government officials in Burundi say they are now left with “no option than to fight” rebels who they say are stepping up attacks in various parts of the country. “Instead of securing a ceasefire, the rebels have increased their attacks and are regrouping to cause even more havoc,” an official told IRIN. “We were hoping that something could come out of the ongoing peace process but there is nothing. It has reached a complete deadlock.” “It is clear now that the rebels believe they can win this war militarily, so the government has been left with no option but to fight back and protect the civilians,” he added.

Independent sources told IRIN that so far the talks between the Burundi and Congolese governments on securing their common border “may not go far”. “Burundi feels that there are no guarantees of the DRC convincing the [DRC-based rebels] FDD [Forces pour la defense de la democratie] to stop war, even if Burundi were to keep its part of the bargain,” the source explained. “I guess it is some kind of mistrust between the two countries.” According to the source, representatives from the Burundi government were invited to attend a Political Committee meeting of the Lusaka peace accord in Zambia early this week. “The Lusaka accord mentions the disengagement of negative forces from the DRC, a category which includes the FDD and so Burundi gets involved,” he said. Burundi is not a signatory to the Lusaka peace accord.