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There was a delay in the start of talks between Burundi's transitional government and rebels of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) in Pretoria, South Africa, FDD spokesman Jean-Marie Ngendahayo told IRIN on Monday.
Most of the members of the FDD delegation were stuck in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, because "they have not got their travel documents from the Tanzanian authorities", Ngendahayo said. "We are supposed to be a delegation of eight at this meeting, but so far we are only two already in South Africa," he said.
According to Ngendahayo, the meeting will start as soon the rest of the delegates arrive in South Africa. The meeting was scheduled to start on Monday and would end on 30 April. "We are absolutely willing to reach an agreement on cessation of hostilities," he added.
He said that FDD and the government delegation had agreed in their last contact meeting in February in South Africa that they would meet again to discuss modalities on cessation of hostilities. Ngendahayo said the government delegation was already in Pretoria. FDD was also preparing to meet the United Nations Security Council delegation on 29 April in Pretoria, he said.
Meanwhile, AFP quoted a Burundi foreign ministry official as saying at the weekend that separate talks had been talking place since 17 April between a government team and a minority FDD wing led by Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye.
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
