Rebel leader seeks direct talks

Leader of the rebel Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD), Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, has warned that attacks would continue until direct talks between them, the government and the army started. “President Pierre Buyoya should show us that he is really ready to negotiate with us,” the Associated press (AP) quoted him as saying. “We’ll try to reach a ceasefire if there is an irreversible move toward peace and democracy,” he said. Last week, mediator of the Burundi peace talks, Nelson Mandela, announced that President Buyoya would lead the 18-month first phase of the country’s transition deputised by Hutu leader Domitien Ndayizeye. Mandela told journalists that the decision was “fixed” and that it would not coincide with the ceasefire.