UN Security Council endorses security force

The 15-member UN Security Council adopted a resolution unanimously on Monday backing the creation of a temporary international security force for Burundi and endorsed the efforts of South Africa and other countries to implement the Arusha peace agreement signed in August 2000 among Burundi's warring factions, UN News reported.

Some 230 South African troops arrived in Bujumbura, the Burundi capital, on Sunday, the advance party of some 700 men that will form the core of the special unit to offer protection to some 150 returning Burundi exiles expected to take part in the transitional government and state institutions due to be inaugurated on Thursday. The South African will also train an all-Burundian protection force, UN News reported.

The Council also reaffirmed its strong support for the establishment of the transitional government and urged the international donors to honour their pledges made at a Paris conference in December 2000. AFP cited a report in South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper quoting Burundi mediator Nelson Mandela as appealing to the donors to double their US $440 million pledge to Burundi.

By its resolution, the Council called on the parties to the Arusha accord and the armed groups, namely the Forces pour la Defense de la Democratie (FDD) and Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL), to stop all violent acts against civilians immediately. It also called on the FDD and FNL to cease all hostilities immediately, enter into negotiations and join the peace process. The Council also asked all the countries of the region to support the process fully, UN News reported. "The Council expressed its willingness to consider, in the light of current progress, further contributions to the peace process and the implementation of the Arusha Agreement," it added.