Ex-rebels complain of poor living conditions in cantonment camp

Ex-fighters from five former rebel groups in Burundi, cantoned at a site in the northwestern province of Bubanza, have complained of inadequate food, congestion in their living quarters and an increase in cases of malaria due to lack of mosquito nets. The commander of the Buramata cantonment site, Col Alexis Nduwimana, said at least four ex-combatants share a hut of less than two square metres. He said the huts themselves were often damaged during inclement weather. Nduwimana told IRIN on Friday that the quantity of food was insufficient for the large number of the cantoned fighters. However, the fighters get "the recommended 2,460 kilocalories" per day in the rations they receive, said Bernard Lambrette, the coordinator of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as GTZ (German Development Agency), which is in charge of the ceasefire issue of the cantonment project. GTZ is the main agency mandated by the EU to provide food for the former fighters. Lambrette said the fighters' complaints could be due to the fact they received the aid in separate groups for efficiency in distribution. He said during food distributions, an initial batch consisting of 20-day packages was often given to 200 of the ex-combatants. The remaining batch, comprising 14-day rations, was later given to the remaining 624 individuals for delivery efficiency. The food shortage, Lambrette said, was worsened by the arrival of more ex-combatants. The cantoned men are drawn form former rebel groups Forces pour la defense de la démocracie (FDD) led by Léonard Nyangoma; the Parti pour la libération du people (PALIPE-AGAKIZA) led by Etienne Karatasi; the Front pour la libération nationales (FNL-ICANZO) led by Alain Mugabarabona; KAZE-FDD led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye; and the Front de liberation nationale (FROLINA) led by Joseph Karumba. Besides the lack of adequate food, Nduwimana told IRIN that the ex-combatants do not have mosquito nets, leading to an increase in the rate of malaria. However, GTZ said medicines had been delivered. "The quantity [of food] is still insufficient, considering the large number of combatants gathered here," Nduwimana said. The coordinator of GTZ in Burundi, Christos Kostilidis, said there "is never enough food", as the people are always in need of more. As to the combatants' complaint that they do not get enough tents for shelter, Kostilidis said GTZ could not provide a tent for each and every combatant. Regarding the combatants' need for protection against cold at night, he said everyone got a bed-cover, but they sold them to residents in the surroundings. Kostilidis urged the former combatants to appreciate the fact that food prices had increased recently. He gave the example of cassava flour, whose price had recently increased from US $0.55 to $0.75 per kg. As for the malaria cases, Lambrette told IRIN, "There are health units near pre-cantonment sites and emergency stores of medicines to treat malaria-infected combatants." Despite these concerns, the ex-combatants are looking forward to the beginning of the country's disarmament and demobilisation programme, set to begin on Monday. They said they hoped the programme would lead to an improvement in their living conditions. The officer in charge of information and sensitisation in the National Demobilisation, Disarmament and Relocation Project, Col Libère Hicuburundi, said the programme would be launched in the capital, Bujumbura. Three demobilisation centres will be established in Bubanza and in the central Gitega and Muramvya provinces.