Violence increases

There has been an upsurge of violence in the capital Bujumbura and in southern parts of the country, local news agencies reported. The Agence burundaise de presse (ABP) said two people were wounded and five houses damaged on Sunday in a rebel attack on Musaga, on the outskirts of the capital. It said rebel forces shelled the area from the surrounding hills. In the city itself, shots were reportedly fired in the direction of the presidential palace on Saturday night, the private Azania news agency reported. Government forces responded, and no casualties were reported. In the southern province of Makamba, rebels launched an attack in the commune of Kibago, the private Netpress news agency said. It gave no details of casualties, but claimed rebel groups had gathered at Mukwara on the border in neighbouring Tanzania’s Kigoma district where they had allegedly been supplied with weapons and ammunition.