Rebels will not derail peace, Ndayizeye says

Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye has dismissed as insincere a recent declaration of a ceasefire by one of the country's rebel factions but said that continuing insecurity would not delay the country's programme for a peaceful transition to democracy.

Speaking on Friday at the private home of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the capital, Kampala, Ndayizeye told reporters that the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) led by Agathon Rwasa was "not serious about this truce offer because they bombed Bujumbura the next day".

However, he said, Burundi's peace process would continue unhindered. "Even if they've refused to talk, we can go along with our political programme. There is peace in 97 percent of Burundi", he said. "We only have insecurity in two communes."

The transitional government of Burundi and the larger faction of the former Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) rebel faction of Pierre Nkurunziza signed a peace agreement in November 2003 but the FNL continues to refuse to make peace. The FNL continues to stage sporadic attacks against the army in and around the capital, Bujumbura.

Museveni, who has invested much time and effort in Burundi's peace process, said sanctions would be imposed against the FNL if it continued to shun opportunities to get involved in the country's peace process.

"We can impose sanctions on these people," he said, "we can stop them travelling and where possible arrest them."

Burundi's conflict between Hutu rebels and a government supported by a minority Tutsi-dominated army dates to 1993.

The UN estimates that the war in Burundi has claimed at least 300,000 lives in the past decade - mostly civilians.