The first of many soldiers handicapped in the line of duty have been honourably discharged from Burundi's army, the Forces Nationales de Défense, an official in charge of demobilisation and reintegration has revealed.
The demobilisation of 103 men began on Thursday in the capital, Bujumbura, with the identification of handicap levels and medical screening.
"Some of these demobilised handicapped soldiers will receive housing, medical rehabilitation, as well as clothes and frequent check-ups by partners mandated to take care of them," Silas Ntigurirwa, the executive secretary of the national demobilisation body, the Commission Nationale de Démobilisation, Réintegration et Réinsertion (CNDRR), said.
A total of 2,300 handicapped soldiers are to be discharged.
Ntigurirwa added that the demobilisation of these soldiers would be progressive, and that the commission in conjunction with the government would ensure the housing and food needs of the soldiers pending their demobilisation.
The commission's director for special projects, Gelase Ndabirabe, said international NGOs, including Oxfam Québec, would be given the task of supporting the demobilised soldiers on a socio-economic level.
Once all the soldiers have been released from service, Ntigurirwa said, there would be "legal mechanisms to protect the handicapped and provide them with means to meet their needs".
These measures will include a one-off payment, as well as additional support in the form of vocational training, such as electronics and advice on how to take care of themselves in order to maintain their "sense of dignity despite their handicap".
The cost to carry out the demobilisation is US $1,600 per soldier.
The demobilisation will extend to former combatants of the rebel Forces nationales de libération (FNL) gathered at Randa locality in the province of Bujumbura Rural, which surrounds the capital. The FNL, led by Agathon Rwasa, had been the country's sole active rebel group until it signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in September.
"A process to separate child soldiers, combatants who surrendered, those with arms and those without arms will be carried out in order to identify real combatants," Ntigurirwa said.
Ntigurirwa said the demobilisation process was yet to cover an FNL faction led by Jean-Bosco Sindayiagaya, because the faction "has not yet been negotiating with the government and its combatants are not assembled at specific locations".
On Wednesday, President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to determine the status of ex-combatants under the ceasefire accord with Rwasa's FNL. The mechanism consists of "a technical team in charge of verifying the status of combatants for those belonging to unstructured groups, which are eligible for demobilisation in compliance with a criterion to be established by the government".
The team will also have to separate child-soldiers from adult combatants among the "unstructured groups".
Burundi is emerging from 13 years of civil war. It held a series of democratic elections in 2005, which culminated in Nkurunziza's election as president in August 2005.
bn/js/jm
The demobilisation of 103 men began on Thursday in the capital, Bujumbura, with the identification of handicap levels and medical screening.
"Some of these demobilised handicapped soldiers will receive housing, medical rehabilitation, as well as clothes and frequent check-ups by partners mandated to take care of them," Silas Ntigurirwa, the executive secretary of the national demobilisation body, the Commission Nationale de Démobilisation, Réintegration et Réinsertion (CNDRR), said.
A total of 2,300 handicapped soldiers are to be discharged.
Ntigurirwa added that the demobilisation of these soldiers would be progressive, and that the commission in conjunction with the government would ensure the housing and food needs of the soldiers pending their demobilisation.
The commission's director for special projects, Gelase Ndabirabe, said international NGOs, including Oxfam Québec, would be given the task of supporting the demobilised soldiers on a socio-economic level.
Once all the soldiers have been released from service, Ntigurirwa said, there would be "legal mechanisms to protect the handicapped and provide them with means to meet their needs".
These measures will include a one-off payment, as well as additional support in the form of vocational training, such as electronics and advice on how to take care of themselves in order to maintain their "sense of dignity despite their handicap".
The cost to carry out the demobilisation is US $1,600 per soldier.
The demobilisation will extend to former combatants of the rebel Forces nationales de libération (FNL) gathered at Randa locality in the province of Bujumbura Rural, which surrounds the capital. The FNL, led by Agathon Rwasa, had been the country's sole active rebel group until it signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in September.
"A process to separate child soldiers, combatants who surrendered, those with arms and those without arms will be carried out in order to identify real combatants," Ntigurirwa said.
Ntigurirwa said the demobilisation process was yet to cover an FNL faction led by Jean-Bosco Sindayiagaya, because the faction "has not yet been negotiating with the government and its combatants are not assembled at specific locations".
On Wednesday, President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to determine the status of ex-combatants under the ceasefire accord with Rwasa's FNL. The mechanism consists of "a technical team in charge of verifying the status of combatants for those belonging to unstructured groups, which are eligible for demobilisation in compliance with a criterion to be established by the government".
The team will also have to separate child-soldiers from adult combatants among the "unstructured groups".
Burundi is emerging from 13 years of civil war. It held a series of democratic elections in 2005, which culminated in Nkurunziza's election as president in August 2005.
bn/js/jm
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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