Bujumbura
Burundi troops have killed 17 fighters from the country�s sole remaining rebel group in their third reported clash since a May 15 truce, the rebels and army said today.
The violence between the army and the Hutu Forces for National Liberation (FNL) comes as the tiny central African nation prepares to hold only its second democratic polls in 12 years, local elections scheduled for Friday.
The FNL, which said it would not interrupt the polls unless provoked, blamed the army for Tuesday�s attack in the outskirts of the capital Bujumbura.
The FNL is the last group left fighting in Burundi, scene of than a decade of ethnic civil war pitting majority Hutus against the politically dominant Tutsi minority.
"On May 31, the army ambushed our fighters at Kabezi commune and killed several of our fighters," FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana. "We are asking ourselves about the will of the government and its army to hold a ceasefire."
An army spokesman said it was the rebels that fired first.
"FNL elements ambushed one of our soldiers who was going in search of food and there were clashes after. We counted 17 FNL killed," army spokesman Adolphe Manirakiza said.
The clash is the third reported since FNL leader Agathon Rwasa and Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye signed a cessation of hostilities agreement in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on May 15, seen as a significant step toward finally bringing the rebels into the peace process.
Friday�s elections are the second in a series of polls diplomats say are necessary to help the coffee-growing country build lasting peace and heal ethnic divides stemming from a conflict that killed more than 300,000.
Parliamentary and presidential polls are expected to take place before Aug. 19 to produce an ethnically balanced government.
The FNL respected an agreement not to interrupt the first democratic poll in 12 years in Burundi, a peaceful Feb. 28 referendum that saw a new constitution overwhelmingly approved.
But the rebels and the army have clashed sporadically since then, and the post-truce attacks mirror those seen after January 2004 peace overtures, which fell apart rapidly.
Both sides have said they are committed to hammering out a lasting ceasefire, but say they will defend themselves if attacked. � Reuters
