Burundi rebels boycott meeting

BURUNDI’s last active rebel group was today urged to implement a 2006 ceasefire as it boycotted a meeting aimed to put the central African nation's derailed peace process back on track.



"It's a matter of deep regret that they didn't take on this invitation," said South African mediator Charles Nqakula of the National Liberation Forces (FLN) rebels. "



Nqakula, who is South Africa's security minister, added: "But again, I ask them to come back to the JVMM (Joint Verification Monitoring Mechanism meeting) unconditionally."



Today’s meeting aims to bring the FNL, which walked out of negotiations three months ago, back into in the peace process.



Officials from the Burundi government, the FNL, the United Nations and the African Union had been invited to the meeting.



Tanzania and South Africa are working in tandem to bring peace to Burundi, struggling to emerge from the ashes of a civil war which erupted in 1993 and killed some 300,000 people. They are also pursuing separate mediation efforts.



But the rebels claim Nqakula is biased and have been demanding a new mediator after attacks on FNL dissidents in the capital Bujumbura on September 4 left 21 dead.



The group accuses Bujumbura of trying to split the movement.



Experts say about 1,400 so-called "presumed dissidents" from the NFL are housed in two camps and protected by the Burundian military.