The president of Burundi, Pierre Buyoya arrived in South Africa on Thursday for talks with former President Nelson Mandela aimed at resolving problems over a proposed peace plan for Burundi. Peace talks stalled last month over the release of political prisoners, the announcement of a ceasefire and problems related to the implementation of a proposed accord. Mandela has been overseeing negotiations between the government of Burundi and opposition leaders aimed at ending their seven-year civil war.
The proposed peace accord suggests setting up a transitional government, integrating Hutu rebels into the Tutsi-dominated army and releasing political prisoners. The signing of the accord is scheduled for August 28. The war in Burundi started in 1993 when Tutsi paratroopers assassinated the country’s first democratically elected president – Hutu Melchior Ndadaye. It has claimed the lives of at least 200000 people, most of them civilians. More than a million people have been displaced.