Burundi army says killed 50 rebels in clashes

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi's army said on Thursday ithad killed 50 fighters from the country's last active rebelgroup in renewed clashes outside the capital Bujumbura.

The attack came barely a day after leaders of the Forcesfor National Liberation (FNL), an ethnic Hutu guerrilla group,said they would drop an amnesty demand and return to the tinycoffee-growing country to implement a long awaited peace deal.

"The Forces for National Liberation ambushed our troops onpatrol. The army then entered into heavy battle with theinsurgents ... two soldiers were also killed," army spokesmanColonel Adolphe Manirakiza said.

He said four soldiers had been wounded, 31 rebels capturedand several weapons seized.

The rebels blamed the military for the fighting.

"It is really regrettable. At the time we were ready tocome back to Burundi to continue talks with the government, thearmy decided to intensify attacks against our positions,"spokesman Pasteur Habimana told Reuters by phone from Dar esSalaam.

"This proves that the government and its army have chosenthe war option instead of peace talks."

Burundi, which has a long history of coups and ethnic war,is emerging from more than a decade of conflict between theTutsi minority and the Hutu majority that killed 300,000people.

The FNL's persistent insurgency is seen by many as thefinal barrier to lasting stability in the country of 8 million.

President Pierre Nkurunziza led the other main Hutu rebelduring the war and took office in 2005 after lengthyAfrican-brokered peace talks. He heads a mixed Hutu-Tutsigovernment.

Regional leaders had given FNL commanders exiled inneighbouring countries until May 15 to return to Burundi.

On Wednesday, the hardline Hutu insurgents said they woulddrop a demand for amnesty and go home, boosting hopes of apolitical breakthrough. Opposition officials called on thegovernment to stop attacks on rebel positions.

But the battle late on Wednesday in the FNL stronghold ofKabezi, 20 km (12 miles) south of Bujumbura, raised doubts overthe new hopes and brought the death toll to 103 since thelatest upsurge of violence began in April.

Burundi's government has faced allegations of corruptionand rights abuses since its inception.

But President Nkurunziza has been relatively quick topunish any of his allies seen as damaging the administrationearly reputation as a homegrown African success story.

(Writing by Wangui Kanina; Editing by Katie Nguyen andMatthew Tostevin)

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