Government continues to accept Congolese refugees

Burundi is continuing to receive refugees fleeing fighting in the east of neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) but armed persons from that country will be denied entry, the Burundi army spokesman, Col Augustine Nzabampema, said on state-owned Radio Burundi.

"We are keeping a constant guard on our frontiers," he said on Tuesday. "We will not offer support to any of the belligerents."

Fighting between the pro-DRC government militia group, the Mayi-Mayi, and forces of the pro-Rwandan rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) has forced just over 7,000 Congolese to flee to neighbouring Burundi. Mayi-Mayi forces seized the town of Uvira from the RCD-Goma on Sunday.

In Burundi, meanwhile, the army launched an offensive against the rebel Forces pour la defence de le democracy, led by Pierre Nkurunziza, in the Kibira forest, northeast of the capital, Bujumbura, two weeks ago and had just begun mopping up operations, Nzabampema said. Two rebel command posts had been destroyed. He warned that the rebels had adopted a new tactic of killing local chiefs in their bid to overthrow the transitional government.

Nzabampema, who was fielding questions from reporters at a news conference in Bujumbura, on Tuesday, described the security situation in Burundi as "generally good".