Mortar shell explosions reverberated for several hours on Thursday near Burundi’s capital, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes, officials said, accusing Hutu rebels of mounting an attack.
Burundi’s second city, Gitega, also came under attack, The explosions began at dawn and could still be heard at midday, according to an AFP journalist in the city.
According to Ignace Ntawembarira, the governor of the province surrounding Bujumbura, fighters of the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) on Wednesday moved into hills overlooking the capital.
”They have been firing shells on the city since this morning,” he said.
Other government officials and residents reported no material damage in the city itself, with shells aparrently falling short.
There was one unconfirmed report of a whole family being killed when a shell hit their house in Rweza, to the east of the city.
Thousands of people fled Kanyosha, which lies on Bujumbura’s southeastern outskirts, when the rebels arrived there, according to Gilbert Buranje, a local government officer.
Meanwhile, Gitega, in the centre of the country, was also attacked on Thursday morning by the FDD and electric power was cut, according to provincial Governor Tharcisse Ntibarirarana.
”One shell damaged the brewery and another cut a high-tension power line, which plunged the city into darkness,” he said.
The FDD signed a ceasefire with the government in December but since then, each side has accused the other of repeatedly violating the truce. – Sapa-AFP