AUTHORITIES in war-ravaged Burundi said on Thursday they were still holding 96 soldiers and seven civilians, suspected of playing a part in a failed coup on July 23. Twenty of those held on remand are officers, according to chief state prosecutor Gerard Ngendabanka. Loyalist troops arrested more than 500 soldiers who tried to overthrow the regime of President Pierre Buyoya in the early hours of July 23. Most were simply fired from the army and only those thought to be ringleaders were kept in detention. The seven civilians, who do not include any prominent politicians were arrested together with nine other soldiers after a commission of enquiry looked into the affair. The civilians are members of the National Renewal Party (Parena), the main focus of Tutsi opposition to Buyoya’s Tutsi minority regime. Parena is opposed to the power-sharing transitional government that is due to come into being next month. – AFP