FBIS4-974 "drafr076_a_94001"
FBIS-AFR-94-076 Daily Report 19 Apr 1994
CENTRAL AFRICA Burundi

Fresh Ethnic Clashes Erupt Near Bujumbura

Fresh Ethnic Clashes Erupt Near Bujumbura AB1904172094 Paris AFP in English 1539 GMT 19 Apr 94 AB1904172094 Paris AFP English BFN [Text] Bujumbura, April 19 (AFP) -- New clashes erupted on the outskirts of Bujumbura Tuesday [19 April] between Tutsi-dominated army forces and Hutu militants, shattering several weeks of relative calm, official sources said. The clashes broke out in Hutu-dominated areas of the city, the sources said. A government statement said Prime Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko had taken measures to "make those who are armed lay down their weapons." Unrest has mounted in some areas on the outskirts of the city for the last few days. Sources said sporadic small arms fire had been reported in the areas for the last few days. The government called on observers from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to be deployed in the areas "to work with civilian and military officials to create confidence between the different ethnic groups." The fresh unrest came two weeks after the death of Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira on April 6 in a plane crash in neighbouring Rwanda, which also killed Rwandan head of state Juvenal Habyarimana. Inter-ethnic unrest in Rwanda is reported to have killed thousands in the two weeks since the plane crash.