/ 8 March 2001

AIRLINES FREEZE FLIGHTS TO BURUNDI

KENYA Airways, Regional Air and Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday suspended flights to Bujumbura, the Burundi capital, because of deadly fighting there between rebels and the army, an airline official said. The suspension went into effect immediately, said the official with Air Burundi, which provides airport ground services for the three companies. Clashes between Hutu rebels and Tutsi-led soldiers have raged on and off for more than a week in northern Bujumbura, claiming at least 40 lives. Burundi’s civil war broke out in 1993 when Tutsi paratroopers assassinated the country’s first democratically elected Hutu president, Melchior Ndiaye. The conflict has killed 200_000 people, mainly civilians. – AFP