Fighting Breaks Out in Burundi's Capital
By ALOYS NIYOYITA
.c The Associated Press
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) - New fighting between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army erupted in Burundi's capital Sunday, a day after the army claimed it pushed the insurgents from the city.
The fighting began when the rebels of the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, attacked several neighborhoods in Bujumbura's east and northeast in the early hours.
``I can hear the rebels singing gospel songs near my house and bullets flying everywhere,'' said a Western aid worker who did not want to be identified.
The fighting prompted the U.S. State Department to order the departure of all non-emergency personnel at the American embassy. The department also advised American citizens to ``consider departure while commercial flights remain available.''
On Saturday, army spokesman Col. Augustin Nzabampema said government soldiers had driven the insurgents out of Bujumbura following five days of fighting that killed scores of people.
Nzabampema made the statement as he took journalists on a tour of southern neighborhoods and showed them 50 bodies.
It was not immediately possible to contact army or rebel officials Sunday.
Fighting broke out in the capital July 7, when the rebels attacked southern areas of Bujumbura. The State Department said rebels have fired rockets and mortars on the capital and other areas, and attacked vehicles on roadways.
A government official who did not want to be identified said 174 people - both rebels and civilians - have been killed in the fighting. The Burundi government and the U.S. Embassy maintain curfews in the capital.
More than 15,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, National Security Minister Salvator Ntihabose said Saturday.
At least 200,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in a nearly 10-year civil war in Burundi. The conflict broke out in October 1993 after Tutsi paratroopers assassinated the country's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, a member of the Hutu majority.
Despite being in the minority, Tutsis have effectively controlled the nation for all but a few months since independence in 1962.
Despite the violence, a South African-led African Union force has begun deploying in Burundi to monitor and help implement cease-fire agreements. But the 900 troops already in Burundi have done nothing to stem the latest violence.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said that 16 of Burundi's 17 provinces are beset by sporadic fighting, looting and armed banditry, compared with this time last year when only six provinces were subject to frequent conflict.
07/13/03 19:39 EDT
