Rebel groups operating in Burundi, in response to a joint appeal by UN humanitarian agencies working in Burundi for “Days of Tranquility” to allow for the polio vaccination campaign to proceed smoothly issued on Friday, have announced that they would observe a truce during the vaccination period between 20-24 August. According the local Bonesha radio, the CNDD-FDD announced that it would allow the NGO health service teams to freely conduct the vaccination. The movement’s spokesman Jerome Ndiho was quoted as confirming that it was ready to offer concrete help to the teams, in sensitising the population. The Forces nationales pour la liberation (FNL), for their part, also made a commitment to respect the new anti-polio vaccination campaign. Bonesha quoted FNL spokesman Anicet Ntawuhiganayo as saying that his movement had opted to desist from attacking civilian and humanitarian workers.
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