Rebels shelling densely populated areas of Bujumbura

Burundi rebels started shelling a densely populated suburbs of the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, on Friday, putting panic-stricken residents to flight, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.

"There is widespread confusion," Antoine Gerard, head of OCHA-Burundi, told IRIN.

He said the neighbourhoods of Kiriri, Kamenge, and Mutanga were being hit the hardest, with shells falling in the vicinity of King Khaled Hospital in Kamenge.

"OCHA is very concerned for the victims of these attacks, and given the level of insecurity, neither UN agencies nor NGOs can reach these populations," he said.

He said that the city centre had, so far, remained untouched.

OCHA also reported that heavy fighting between rebels and government forces was ongoing near Kibira Forest, in Mpanda Commune of Bubanza Province, causing an estimated 10,000 civilians to flee.

Meanwhile, Radio Publique Africaine reported that shells landed near the Munarira centre in Rutegama commune, Muramvya Province, where those wounded by earlier fighting had sought shelter. The total number of people dead or wounded remains unknown.

Efforts at reaching a ceasefire in Burundi were ongoing in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.