TUESDAY, 5.30PM
Tanzania has denied accuations that its army attacked Burundian army positions near the border on Monday, saying Tanzanian soldiers merely returned Burundian fire.
Burundi’s Lieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi had accused Tanzanian soldiers of launching a mortar and heavy machine-gun attack on Burundi army positions in Kabonga et Mukerezi, killing two soldiers and 10 civilians. However, Tanzanian Brigadier-General Romanus Hellela said it was the Burundian troops who fired first.
It was the second time in a month the two sides had accused each other of opening hostilities. But this time, Burundi has demanded that United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan “make these attacks stop”.In a letter to Annan, the foreign ministry asks him to “foster the re-establishment of communication between the Tanzanian and Burundian governments”, mediate and send observers to the border.
Burundi’s civil war has exacerbated strained relations, focused on accusations by Burundi that Tanzania is allowing Hutu rebels to mount attacks from its territory, while Tanzania charges that Burundian troops have crossed the border, presumably in hot pursuit operations.
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