THE Burundi army has killed at least 200 Hutu rebels in five days of fighting near the Tanzanian border, local villagers said on Thursday. Colonel Bernard Bijonya said that the rebels — members of the Forces for the Defence of Democracy — have infiltrated from Tanzania in the past two weeks. He said many rebels have been killed, but local villagers said the figure was at least 200. The rebels have stepped up their activities since the beginning of May and briefly took control of four villages in the border region of Buha. An estimated 200,000 people have been killed in a civil war between Burundi’s mainly Tutsi army and Hutu rebels since 1993.