At Least 26 People Killed, Thousands Displaced in Burundi Fighting

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 17, 2002

At Least 26 People Killed, Thousands Displaced in Burundi Fighting

At least 26 people have been killed and over 35,000 displaced during the past week of clashes around Burundi's capital Bujumbura, according to reports reaching here from Bujumbura on Wednesday.

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At least 26 people have been killed and over 35,000 displaced during the past week of clashes around Burundi's capital Bujumbura, according to reports reaching here from Bujumbura on Wednesday.

The reports quoted army spokesman Colonel Augustin Nzabampema as saying that the army has been conducting mopping-up operations against rebels in the hills overlooking the capital.

"Helicopters, heavy artillery and infantry were used in the major operations," he said, adding that "We want to flush the rebels from Bujumbura Rural after Tenga," referring to a month- long campaign against the Hutu rebel stronghold of Tenga some 10 kilometers north of Bujumbura. The army killed a total of 515 rebels and recaptured Tenga at the end of 2001.

Fighting between ethnic Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army has flared across Burundi since the inauguration of a new government on November 1, 2001 aimed at kickstarting a peace process to end the country's nine-year war.

The new cabinet shares power between the majority Hutu and the Tutsi, a minority who have traditionally dominated the political arena, but rebel groups have refused to recognize its authority, saying real power still lies with the Tutsi-led army.

Hutu rebels have been fighting the Tutsi-dominated Burundian army since 1993 in a war that has killed an estimated 250,000 people.

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