/ 7 January 2002

10 REBELS, 1 SOLDIER DEAD IN BURUNDI

TEN rebels and one soldier died in clashes this week in northwestern Burundi, military sources said Wednesday. The clashes, which also injured six soldiers, occurred late Monday in Kirama, near the northwestern Kibira forest where Hutu rebels from the Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) are active. The FDD and another rebel group, the National Liberation Forces have been waging a civil war since 1993. More than 250 000 people have been killed in the conflict. In other unrest, three people were killed and eight others were wounded when a grenade exploded in a bar on Tuesday in Mpanda, some 15 kilometres outside the capital Bujumbura, local officials said. The sources said a group of four youths threw the grenade after refusing to pay for rutuku — an alcohol made from the starch staple cassava. The four youths were arrested and remain in custody. – Sapa-AFP