Share & more
Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is seeking parliamentary approval for Nigerian peacekeeping forces to be deployed to Burundi, AFP reported Thursday. In a letter to Nigeria's upper house of parliament, the Senate, Obasanjo said the request for approval follows ongoing efforts by some African leaders, particularly South African former president and Burundi peace mediator Nelson Mandela, to end Burundi's civil war.
"It is envisaged that at the end of the exercise (to end the crisis), some countries including Nigeria will be requested to deploy military personnel to the Burundi peacekeeping mission," Obasanjo said in the letter.
Civil war in Burundi since 1993 has pitted Hutu rebel movements against the government and army, both controlled by the country's Tutsi minority. All political and civil parties to the strife in Burundi agreed to a ceasefire in August 2000, and under a power-sharing deal, a transitional administration is due to take shape beginning on 1 November. However, the two main rebel movements, the Forces for National Liberation (FNL) and the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), have not signed the accord.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
