Foreign peacekeepers to supervise ceasefire

The summit communique also noted that Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa had agreed to contribute troops to a peacekeeping force for Burundi, and that Belgium had offered logistical support. It said their mandate would be to ensure respect for the ceasefire, supervise the integration of the army, provide technical support for demobilisation and training, ensure protection for institutions and public figures, and assist in the “establishment and training of an ethnically-balanced special unit for the protection of the institutions”. According to the communique, the peacekeepers would be deployed “while efforts are underway to get the United Nations Security Council to mandate the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force” as envisaged in the Arusha peace accord. However, no figure was mentioned for the number of peacekeepers required.