Thousands flee fresh fighting near Bujumbura

An estimated 15,000 people have fled their homes at Mpanda Commune, 12 km northwest of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, following two days of fighting between Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) rebels led by Agathon Rwasa and the army, local officials told IRIN on Tuesday. The fighting could undermine talks that began in Pretoria on Tuesday between Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye and the largest rebel movement in the country, the Conseil national de defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza, an official, who requested anonymity, said. Confirming the Mpanda fighting, FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana said the movement had "faced" the army since Sunday. "The army is chasing us into Rukoko forest [an FNL stronghold bordering the commune]," he said. "This followed the attack of our movement against a military position last Friday at Mpanda, where we killed three soldiers and seized one machine gun." However, a senior army officer in Mpanda dismissed Habimana's claim that the FNL had killed three soldiers. "The army is fighting the FNL at Mpanda but I cannot tell you the number of people already killed or injured. I know that a large number of the population of Mpanda and its surroundings fled as operations of chasing the rebels continued," he said. On Monday, FNL rebels staged another attack at a military position at Nyambuye zone in Bujumbura Rural Province, in which four soldiers were killed, Habimana said. However, Army Spokesman Augustin Nzabampema denied this allegation, saying only one person was killed. "The FNL attempted to attack the military position at Nyambuye but the army repelled the attackers," Col Nzabampema said. "We deplore the death of one person who was killed by a bullet during an exchange of fire." On Saturday, the FNL threatened to launch another offensive on Bujumbura unless the police released the movement members who hade been arrested. Analysts speculated that the latest FNL attacks were carried out to show the government that peace may not be achieved without the movement's involvement. Rwasa's FNL faction is the only rebel group that is yet to sign a ceasefire agreement with the transitional government. Nkurunziza's faction of the CNDD-FDD has announced a cessation of hostilities during the period of talks between the movement and the government on power sharing and the transformation of the Burundian military. The two-day Pretoria meeting is expected to result in an agreement between the government and the CNDD-FDD, ahead of a regional summit on Burundi, due to be held on 24 August.