UN mission deploys troops to Bujumbura Rural

The newly established UN Mission in Burundi, known by its French acronym ONUB, has deployed some 300 troops in the commune of Kabezi in the troubled western province of Bujumbura Rural, where fighting has displaced thousands of civilians, an ONUB official said on Tuesday. ONUB Spokesman Saiki Kemal said the UN troops started patrolling the commune last week, and had made contact with local administrative officials and the gendarmerie, as well as the civilian population. Up to 40,000 civilians have been displaced in the western province of Bujumbura Rural following three months of fighting between the army and Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) rebels loyal to Agathon Rwasa. Rwasa's FNL is the only rebel group in the country that has refused to enter into ceasefire negotiations with the transitional government. Three other former rebel movements have signed agreements with the government and are participating in the transition. Kemal said the UN troops were patrolling the commune during daytime, returning to the capital, Bujumbura, in the evening. He did not indicate when the troops would set up a permanent base in the area. ONUB was established on 21 May by UN Security Council Resolution 1545, and took over from the African Union's mission in Burundi on 1 June. The newly appointed special representative of the UN secretary-general for Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, arrived in Bujumbura on 25 June to take up her duties as the ONUB head. Upon arrival, McAskie said her main tasks would be to steer the UN peacekeeping mission and help Burundians implement the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement signed in August 2000. Under the accord, a three-year transitional period was launched in Burundi, which due to end in October, with elections to be held before 1 November. Burundi is emerging from a devastating decade-long civil war between Hutu rebel groups and the then minority Tutsi government. With the establishment of a transitional government, relative peace has been restored in the greater part of the country. However, fighting continues in Bujumbura Rural, the stronghold of Rwasa's FNL.