The African Union (AU) has urged the last active rebel group in Burundi to join the peace process aimed at ending more than a decade of devastating fighting in the impoverished central African nation.
The Peace and Security Council of the AU ”appeals urgently to the FNL (National Liberation Forces) to join the peace process without delay,” the Addis Ababa-based body said in a statement released late on Thursday.
The council called ”for renewed efforts to be made for the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement” between the Bujumbura government and the rebels.
In addition, AU said the international community should sustain its support in order to consolidate achievements in Burundi’s democratisation process.
Next Tuesday, donor countries will gather in New York for a conference to raise funds aimed at helping the country continue its emergence from bloody conflict, which erupted in 1993 and has so far claimed 300 000 lives.
Last month, Burundi elected a new president, concluding a transitional period. – AFP
