FNL denies it has been ousted from Kinama

The rebel Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL), which has been locked in battle with the Burundi army in the environs of Bujumbura, on Friday rejected government claims that it had been ousted from the northern suburb of Kinama, where it had entrenched itself for much of the past fortnight. Defence Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye said on Thursday that government troops had regained control of the northern Bujumbura suburbs where heavy fighting began on the weekend of 24-25 February, AFP reported. “We’re holding the whole area [of Kinama], patrols are in the whole district,” it quoted Ndayirukiye as saying, while the army said it was continuing its operation to ensure that no rebels were still hiding out in the outlying region.
Local residents and military sources said that Hutu FNL rebels fled Kinama during Wednesday night, as the army mounted a counter-offensive. However, FNL spokesman Anicet Ntawuhiganayo denied that the army had forced their withdrawal, claimed that the rebels had killed 150 soldiers and said they were continuing to fight, the BBC reported on Friday. No new casualty figures were immediately available, but more than 40 people have been killed since the FNL launched its assault, according to witnesses and army sources cited by AFP.

Some 53,000 civilians have fled Kinama and the adjoining districts of Cibitoke, Kamenge and Mutakura, according to humanitarian sources in the Burundi capital. These were currently regrouped in 12 sites, of which the humanitarian community has access to 11 and the other is inaccessible due to insecurity, they said. Access to water and sanitation facilities has been identified as a main priority for the displaced.