Fighting between the Burundian army and two rebel groups has displaced more than 30,000 people in two provinces, officials and aid workers said Wednesday. For two weeks, the Tutsi-dominated army has been fighting Hutu rebels of the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, in Bujumbura Rurale province, forcing more than 20,000 to flee their homes, said Ignace Ntawembarira, the province's governor.

The definitive implementation of a ceasefire between government and rebel forces in Burundi has been delayed from its scheduled date of Monday, government and rebel officials said. "It was not possible (to implement the accord on Monday) because the ceasefire depended on the arrival of the African Mission, the setting up of a joint ceasefire commission, and the cantonment of belligerents," Foreign Minister Therence Sinunguruza said.

Train IRC staff in human rights, IDP and refugee protection concepts; Monitor protection concerns among IRC beneficiaries, including ethnic discrimination, diversion of relief supplies, lack of access to land, sexual violence, and separation of family members; Collect information relating to protection problems; Ensure that protection and the promotion of human rights is better incorporated into IRC projects through contributing to program design, monitoring and evaluation.

The rebel Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) and the government army accused each other on Tuesday of numerous violations of the ceasefire agreement they signed on 2 December.

The International Rescue Committee supplied emergency services for thousands of Burundians who fled northern and eastern regions of Burundi’s capital Bujumbura late last month following a heavy attack by rebel forces.

Burundi President Pierre Buyoya and the leader of the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD), Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a historic ceasefire agreement here early Tuesday aimed at ending a civil war which has killed around 300 000 people.
Related Link: Billeting of former rebels to begin this week
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Are you committed to changing the lives of poor women and men in Africa. Are you results oriented? Look no further because Oxfam GB is seeking someone like you for the position of Programme Representative, Burundi.

Recent army massacres of civilians and the bombardment of Bujumbura by the rebel Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) raises the risk of further widespread killing of civilians in Burundi, Human Rights Watch says in a briefing paper.
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Rebels Shell Bujumbura
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The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), has distributed 2,496 kg of high-protein biscuits to some 1,600 households displaced last Friday by fighting between rebels and government forces in Mount Sion, in Gikungu, the agency's communications officer, Sara Johansson, told IRIN.

Provincial administrators of Burundi's ministries of education and interior joined local officials on the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the inauguration on Wednesday of a collection of "vital data" on all primary school infrastructures in the country, the UN agency reported.

A new round of ceasefire talks to end Burundi’s nine-year old civil war failed to get underway on Tuesday, as rebels of the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) said they did not get the invitation to attend.

Half the internally displaced primary school-age children in Burundi do not go to school due to a high level of poverty, according to a recent survey conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Talks between Burundi President Pierre Buyoya and ethnic Hutu rebels ended last week without them agreeing a ceasefire. Regional leaders had imposed a deadline which expired at midnight last Thursday for a deal to be reached.

At least 10,000 people in central and southwestern Burundi, who fled recent fighting between government and rebel forces, need urgent humanitarian aid, local officials said.

The Country Director (CD), based in Bujumbura, Burundi, is responsible for providing overall leadership to the country office's program, financial, human resources, and administrative management. This includes oversight of the development, implementation and evaluation of high quality country office strategic annual plans for programs that are in support of CARE's worldwide purpose and strategic directions.

Burundian rebels have launched several fresh attacks against government forces despite progress at ceasefire talks between the two sides, being held in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

Thousands of people who have fled their homes since fighting began last week between the Burundian army and rebels have not yet received humanitarian aid, but the UN Office for he Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will soon investigate their situation, according to an OCHA official.

The current situation of some 11,000 refugees who have arrived in Burundi from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since fighting erupted in Uvira on Saturday is "under control", Stefano Severe, country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told IRIN last Friday.

With efforts to end years of civil conflict continuing, the Government of Burundi is undertaking a national good governance programme in partnership with UNDP. UNDP is providing US$7 million to support the initiative, covering three areas: political institutions and human rights, government administration, and the economy and public finance.

Ethnic Burundi rebels have 30 days to agree to a ceasefire or face tough action. That is the word from Jacob Zuma, South African Deputy President and mediator to the talks, and the African leaders who had gathered in Tanzania. The ultimatum comes a day after the leaders failed to achieve an all-inclusive ceasefire to end the nine year-war in Burundi.