Rebel leaders set conditions for cantonment

Two leaders of rebel factions said on Friday that they must first assess a cantonment area near Bujumbura, the capital Burundi, before their troops could be assembled, a spokesman for one of the factions told IRIN on Friday. The African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the country had indicated in a previous statement that cantonment of rebel troops would begin on Friday at Muyange, 30 km northwest of Bujumbura. However, the spokesman for the smaller faction of the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL), Charles Kabagambe, said the factions held talks early Friday with officials of the AU peacekeeping force, known as the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB), and agreed that the rebel leaders visit the cantonment area on Saturday and Sunday. Kabagambe said the leader of the smaller Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) faction, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, would be the first to visit the cantonment area and FNL leader Alain Mugabarabona would follow, after which their troops would join pre-assembly areas. "Theoretically, cantonment operations are planned from 6 June to 20 June," he said. About 3,500 fighters loyal to Ndayikengurukiye and up to 1,800 loyal to Mugabarabona are expected assemble at Muyange, the first cantonment area. AMIB had earlier stated that a specific procedure would be followed regarding the security and reception of the rebel troops in cantonment areas. "For instance, belligerents will regroup in specific pre-assembly areas and be escorted by AMIB forces to the cantonment area," the statement had indicated. "A cantonment area will only accommodate the combatants, without their families, for a maximum period of 90 days," AMIB had said. The AU sent the peacekeeping troops to Burundi to help facilitate a transitional government currently in place. AMIB was mandated to monitor ceasefire agreements signed between the government and rebel groups and to monitor the cantonment and disarmament of rebel troops. When the deployment of AMIB troops is completed, it is expected that 1,600 South African soldiers, 1,297 from Ethiopia and 202 from Mozambique would be in Burundi by August.