Advance party of Ethiopian peacekeepers arrive

The deputy commander of the African peacekeeping mission in Burundi, Brig-Gen Geberat Ayele of Ethiopia, landed in the capital, Bujumbura, on Sunday together with 15 officers, to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the Ethiopian contingent expected to take part in the mission. On arrival, Ayele told reporters that the peacekeeping mission, known as the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB), would have a force of 2,870 troops - 1,600 from South Africa, 980 from Ethiopia and 290 from Mozambique. Initial reports had put the number of the AMIB troops at 3,500. South Africa has had 232 peacekeeping troops in the country since April. They are assisted by 701 South African soldiers protecting political leaders who have returned from exile to take part in the transitional government currently in place. According to a timetable agreed upon under South African mediation, all the troops from Mozambique are expected in Bujumbura on Thursday and the Ethiopians on 2 June. The AMIB troops are expected to canton, disarm and demobilise Burundi's combatants who have fighting government forces. The cantonment is scheduled to begin on 6 June. AMIB commander Maj-Gen Sipho Binda, from South Africa, has been in Burundi since March. The African Union established AMIB to help Burundi's transitional government ensure that ceasefire agreements signed with rebel groups are respected. The civil war in Burundi, which began in 1993 following the assassination of the first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, has claimed more than 200,000 lives. In August 2000, 19 Burundian parties signed an accord in Arusha, Tanzania, that led to the installation of a three-year transitional government. However, despite ceasefire agreements signed by the government with rebels groups in December 2002, fighting has continued in most parts of the country.