Mandela meets army and rebels

The facilitator of the Arusha peace process for Burundi, former South African President Nelson Mandela, was on Tuesday meeting with representatives of the Burundian army and rebel groups in Johannesburg, an official at the Mandela Foundation told IRIN. “For security reasons, I am under instructions not to divulge the names of the participants,” the spokesman said. Sources close to the facilitator’s office told IRIN that opposition groups represented at the Johannesburg consultations included the FNL, FDD, CNDD, PALIPEHUTU and FROLINA.

The independent Hirondelle news agency on Monday quoted informed sources as saying FDD leader Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye was not attending in person but had sent a high-level representative. The facilitation was hoping to get all the parties to meet together on Wednesday, Hirondelle added. “This is the beginning of the process that will lead to the cessation of hostilities ... it’s a good opportunity for the mediator to try and bridge the gap between different parties,” Burundi analyst Jan van Eck of the South Africa-based Centre for Conflict Resolution told IRIN on Tuesday.