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Belgium pledges over US $20 million to support peace

    NAIROBI

    Belgium intends to donate 1 billion Belgian francs (some US 21.7 million) to Burundi, Secretary of State for Development Cooperation Eddy Boutmans announced on Tuesday during the donor conference being held in Paris to consider the best means of supporting the Burundi peace process. The aid package will cover, among other things, Belgium’s participation in humanitarian operations, the reintegration of displaced people, and social rehabilitation programmes.

    Peace process facilitator Nelson Mandela condemned what he called “cowardly assaults” by rebels in Burundi as he opened the conference on Monday, the Associated Press agency (AP) reported. Mandela referred in particular to the “dastardly attack” on a Sabena airliner last week as it prepared to land in the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, the report said. French President Jacques Chirac issued an “urgent and solemn call” to the armed groups which have remained on the sidelines of the peace process in Burundi to agree to a ceasefire, noting that “the donors evidently cannot do this in place of the Burundians”, AFP reported.

    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

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