Vicinity of Bujumbura airport attacked

Rebels of the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) fired mortar rounds at a military post near Bujumbura airport on Wednesday, minutes after an Ethiopian Airlines plane landed, news organisations reported. The army reportedly repulsed the attack after a 30-minute gun battle and no casualties were reported among the plane's passengers, the Associated Press said. Fighting in the capital Bujumbura subsided on Wednesday, and some residents of the affected northern suburbs of Kamenge and Kinama began returning to their homes. But Bujumbura residents told IRIN the situation is still extremely volatile and tense, and more attacks are expected. Thousands of people have been displaced and humanitarian agencies are coordinating activities to help them, as well as the wounded. The private Azania news agency quoted army spokesman Colonel Longin Minani as saying three soldiers had died in the fighting in Kinama. He added that the bodies of 10 rebels had been found. Minani also told IRIN on Wednesday that Kinama was now under the control of the army, and the situation was returning to normal. At least 34 people have been killed in the fighting, which broke out on Saturday night.