Kinama casualty figures uncertain

The number of people killed during fighting in the northern Bujumbura suburb of Kinama could be higher than 200, the head of Ligue Iteka, a local Burundi human rights group, Pio Ntakarutimana, said on Tuesday. He said that the way the bodies were being found did not allow one to know the identity of the dead “except when they are identified by relatives”, the BBC reported. Ntakarutimana said some of the dead were rebels of the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) which launched an intensive assault on Bujumbura in late February, and others were citizens.

Ntakarutimana said that when fighting started in Kinama, where the FNL entrenched itself as the Burundi army attempted to repulse its attack, many citizens remained for various reasons. “Some of those who remained there were misled by the rebels, who told them that they were sure to win and that they would need their [people’s] support,” he said. “Others remained there, fearing the looting of their belongings if they left. Those were the main casualties in Kinama,” he added. Ntakarutimana said people could fear returning to their homes because of “rumours” of another rebel attack. Humanitarian sources told IRIN on Wednesday that up to 7,800 people of 10,000 displaced had returned to Kinama. “During the day, they go back to their homes and try to start reconstructing their houses,” an aid worker in the capital said.