South Africa’s intermediary role in brokering a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted Burundi to request similar assistance to end six years of civil war that has claimed more than 250000 lives. Burundi’s president, Pierre Buyoya at the weekend met president Thabo Mbeki to ask Pretoria to play “an active role” in ending his country’s conflict between the Hutus and Tutsi communities, which on Sunday claimed at least another 41 lives when Hutu rebels attacked the capital Bujumbura. South African officials said Buyoya’s meeting with Mbeki was a follow-up to the talks the two leaders held in Pretoria during Mbeki’s inauguration in June. According to Business Day, Mbeki has appointed a senior foreign affairs official as his special envoy to Burundi, a move reportedly indicating Mbeki’s seriousness about the matter.