The African Union has begun deploying its peacekeeping force in Burundi as the country tries to end a 10-year civil war between ethnic Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated government. Major General Sipho Binda, the head of the force, arrived in Bujumbura Sunday with about 100 other South African soldiers. Ethiopia and Mozambique are also contributing soldiers to the 3,500-strong force, the rest of which is to deploy in coming weeks. The soldiers are to help enforce a four-month old ceasefire between the government and the Forces for the Defense of Democracy, or FDD, the country’s largest rebel group. The truce has been broken repeatedly, as loyalist soldiers and the Hutu-dominated FDD fought close to the Burundian capital in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Burundi’s ethnic Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya is preparing to leave his office to a Hutu on Wednesday. The move is part of a power-sharing agreement between the government and the Hutu opposition. Full Story
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