Citation
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17 (AFP) - A UN mission that returned from Burundi warned Friday that conditions in the central African country are potentially explosive.
Bujumbura has been the scene of clashes between Tutsis and Hutus following a general strike launched Tuesday by the opposition, which is dominated by the Tutsi minority.
The opposition is demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko, a leader of Union for National Progress (UPRONA) accused of betraying his own followers. A number of people have been killed in the unrest.
"The political and security situation remains precarious and is potentially explosive," the report by the UN mission said.
"There are systematic and persistent efforts by extremist forces, notably among the ranks of the UPRONA, to undermine the coalition government," the report said, referring the principal opposition party.
The mission -- composed of representative from seven countries on the UN Security Council -- recommended that UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali establish as soon as possible an international commission to investigate an October 1993 coup attempt.
The commission would have the backing of the Bujumbura government and would also be charged with investigating the massacres that followed the coup attempt.
The killings, which have never been punished, caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people. They preceded the massacres on an even larger scale that ravaged Rwanda the following year.
A diplomat who specializes in African affairs said the idea of the commission was to break the cycle of impunity and reprisal which has poisoned political life in Burundi.
ltl/jm/rl AFP AFP
