A ceasefire in the war-torn central African state of Burundi is an "obligation," the head of a government delegation said at the start of peace talks with rebels in Dar es Salaam today.
Officials of Burundi's government and the main Hutu rebel group, the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), began ceasefire negotiations in Tanzania's commercial capital.
More than 250,000 people have been killed since 1993 in Burundi in a conflict pitting several rebel movements drawn from the country's large Hutu majority against an army dominated by the Tutsi minority.
Asked whether the two sides would achieve a ceasefire, government delegation leader Ambroise Niyonsaba said: "It's an obligation, as long as everybody is in the same state of mind as we are."
The official said there had been a good atmosphere on the first day of talks.
AFP
