New round of talks on the Burundi crisis

“The talks on Burundi will be opening in Entebbe… all the parties including government will be here for the talks”, Uganda’s Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga told news agency AFP, adding that they would be chaired by President Yoweri Museveni.

Burundi government representatives and some opposition groups are meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, in a bid to find a solution to the long-running conflict in the country.

“I really appeal to you, the two sides, to sit down and have a political solution so that you save the people from the suffering”, Museveni said.

The unrest was sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s insistence to run for a third term early this year.

The rival factions are expected to meet again next month in Arusha, northern Tanzania for more negotiations.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza warned African Union peacekeepers to stay out of the country or else he would view it as an attack and would respond in kind.

CNARED, a coalition claiming to uphold the Arusha peace agreement which they claim Nkurunziza’s third term violates, were present at the talks.

The 54-member African Union said last week it would send a 5,000-strong force to halt violence that has sparked fears that Burundi is sliding back towards civil war, and has pledged to send troops despite Burundi’s fierce opposition.

“CNARED requires above all an immediate end to the massacres, because we can not negotiate while people are about to be killed”, CNARED spokesman Pancrace Cimpaye said, calling for the “immediate deployment” of the proposed AU force.

“All those whose action could jeopardize the inter-Burundian dialogue, including attacks by armed groups against governmental facilities and other targets, as well as refusal to respond to the invitation of the mediator, shall be subjected to sanctions”, AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement seen Wednesday.

The violence – which included an abortive coup, regular ambushes on security forces, street battles and even failed mortar bombings on the presidential palace – already echo attacks carried out during the civil war.

Museveni, however, quickly intervened and urged the Burundi government not to set conditionalities for the interest of peace.