At least two civilians were killed on Thursday after Hutu rebels in Burundi launched a ferocious attack on the capital Bujumbura, as their offensive on the city entered a fourth day, local officials said.
After a night of calm, rebels from the Hutu National Liberation Forces (FNL) renewed their offensive on Bujumbura, with sustained shooting, mortar fire and grenade explosions echoing around the capital.
A customer in an open air bar was killed and another seriously injured when rockets slammed into the centre of the capital early on Thursday. A second civilian was killed in a mortar attack on his office.
The casualties come a day after at least two people were killed in a ferocious onslaught by rebel forces on the centre of the city.
”They (the rebels) have received a lot of reinforcements in the night and they are attacking us with force,” said a Burundian army officer on condition of anonymity.
The FNL did not sign the country’s ceasefire pact in December and has vowed to continue the three day old offensive until President Domitien Ndayizeye steps down.
The FNL has steadfastly refused to hold talks with the government, even under Ndayizeye, a Hutu, who took over as president from Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, in April for the second 18 months of an interim power-sharing regime.
The army and the government have accused the FNL of teaming up with Burundi’s largest Hutu rebel group, the Forces for Defence and Deomocracy (FDD).
However the FDD — which was one of three rebel groups to sign the ceasefire pact — has denied the charges, saying it does not share the rival group’s objectives. – Sapa-AFP