UN mission takes over from AU force

UN troops took over on Tuesday from an African Union (AU) force that was deployed in Burundi in 2003 to monitor the country's transition to democracy, after a decade-long civil war. Some 2,700 troops who had served under the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB) donned blue UN helmets at the handing over ceremony in the capital, Bujumbura, marking the change of mandate to the new mission, known as the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB). "The deployment of UN troops in Burundi marks a new day," Berhanu Dinka, the outgoing Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said during the ceremony attended by senior government, UN and AU officials. When fully deployed, the UN troops, under the command of Maj-Gen Derrick Mgweti from South Africa, will number 5,650. Currently, the mission comprises troops from Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa. They are due to be joined by contingents from Angola, Nepal and Pakistan. Dinka; Burundi's minister for external relations and cooperation, Terence Sinunguruza; as well as the AU representative in Burundi, Mamadou Bah, all praised AMIB's work, but said they hoped the troops would achieve more under UN command. "The deployment of AMIB has created favourable conditions for the deployment of the UN peacekeeping force," Bah said. Sinunguruza said AMIB's deployment had allowed the country's institutions to be open to all protagonists. "The deployment of UNOB therefore means all conditions are meant for the disarming and demobilisation operations," he said. Bah called on the country's political leaders to resolve their differences and offer peace and stability to Burundians. "The AMIB mandate is ended but the African Union will continue to back Burundi in its peace process," he added. AMIB was deployed following the establishment of a three-year transitional period, in accordance with a Peace and Reconciliation Accord signed in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 2000. The AU deployment was done to give the UN time to prepare a peacekeeping mission to the country. AMIB was mandated to monitor the peace process as well as to protect politicians returning from exile to take part in the transition. On 21 May, the UN Security Council voted for Resolution 1545, authorising the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Burundi, with an initial mandate of six months. Their mandate includes supporting the process of disarming and disbanding militias as well as promoting the rule of law. South Africa's foreign minister, Nkosazana Zuma, attended the handing over ceremony as a special envoy of the South African mediation team in charge of Burundi's peace process. At a news conference after the handing over ceremony, Dinka reiterated the UN's commitment to help Burundi achieve lasting peace by bringing the Forces nationales de liberation rebel group, led by Agathon Rwasa, to the negotiation table. Rwasa's group is the only rebel movement that has not signed a ceasefire agreement with the transitional government of Burundi, and continues to stage sporadic attacks against government forces in and around Bujumbura. Another FNL faction, led by Alain Mugabarabona; the main former rebel movement, the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) led by Pierre Nkuruniziza; and a smaller CNDD-FDD faction, led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, have already signed ceasefire agreements with the transitional government and are in different stages of participation in government. Nkurunziza's group signed a power-sharing agreement with the government in November 2003 and has taken up ministerial and parliamentary positions in the transitional government. Civil war started in Burundi in 1993 following the assassination of the country's democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, who was from the majority Hutu ethnic group. Pro-Hutu rebel groups emerged to oppose the predominantly minority Tutsi-led government and army in a civil war that has claimed at least 300,000 lives.