At least 400 people were killed in the first quarter of 2008, which indicates that Burundi's human rights record has failed to improve this year, according to Iteka, a rights group.

All the country's provinces were affected by violence, particularly Bujumbura Rural, Bubanza and Cibitoke, where the rebel Forces nationales de libération (FNL) have been active, Iteka stated in its report for 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.

Addressing a news conference on 21 July, Iteka chairman David Nahimana said the "killing is mainly blamed on the armed banditry, which claimed 223 victims”.

However, Nahimana said: “The police and the army also account for 31 and 48 cases respectively, while FNL is blamed for 47 cases.”

On 22 July, Lt-Col Adolphe Manirakiza, the army spokesman, rejected Iteka's allegations, saying the army was not killing civilians.

"The author of the report is the only one responsible for its content,” Manirakiza said. "Whenever a soldier is held responsible for a killing, whether by indiscipline or misconduct, he is seriously sanctioned before the military jurisdictions."

Iteka also deplored the fact that sexual violence remained rampant. The group registered some 455 women and girl victims of rape, the majority younger than 12.

According to Nahimana, sexual violence was on the increase because perpetrators were not punished sufficiently. He added that victims' fear of reporting rape crimes and lack of support from the community were contributing factors.

Among other recommendations, Iteka urged the government to speed up the disarmament of the civilian populations and establish protective measures for vulnerable groups and to enact severe punishment for sexual crimes.

IRIN 

Banguabo Mosozi, 68, was a young man when he fled neighbouring Burundi to Tanzania, escaping violence that is estimated to have killed at least 200,000 people. That was in 1972.

Now, a father of 14 with four wives, Mosozi is one of the 218,000 Burundian refugees living in three settlements in the western Tanzanian regions of Tabora and Rukwa.

Like his fellow refugees, he faces the prospect of staying in Tanzania or returning home because the settlements - Ulyankulu, Katumba and Nishamo - are being closed down by Tanzanian and Burundi authorities, in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

"In Burundi you will participate in the unfolding peaceful and democratic process, as well as take part in the reconstruction of the country," UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres told the refugees at Ulyankulu on 8 March.

The day Guterres visited, with Khamis Kagasheki, Tanzania’s deputy home affairs minister, a registration exercise began in which the refugees would choose between going back to Burundi or applying for Tanzanian citizenship.

"For those who now feel that you are now more Tanzanian and pleased to remain, the government has generously offered to consider your application for citizenship in accordance to the country’s laws," Guterres said.

Some 20 percent of the refugees, according to UNHCR, expressed their wish during a 2007 population registration to return to Burundi. Another 172,000 indicated their wish to remain in Tanzania.

"No one should hold refugee status permanently," Kagasheki said at a send-off ceremony, where a train carrying the first 255 refugees returning to Burundi was flagged off a railway station at Katumba.

"To be a refugee is a temporary status and there must be justifications for such a situation," the minister added.

Choices

At the camps, many refugees, especially those younger than 40, seemed reluctant to return to Burundi, saying they arrived in Tanzania as toddlers and have no idea of the reality back home.

"I am so used to this place," Absalom Frederick, 40, a father of six, told IRIN. "Many times I have heard of horrible stories about what made us flee Burundi. I will remain here for the rest of my life. I am very comfortable."

Banyutilieko Anania, 64, said as much as he loved his home country, he was reluctant to leave. "There are reports that in some parts of the country killings are going on. I may not go," Anania, a father of 14, said.

In January, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete reiterated his government’s resolve to close down all refugee camps, saying there was need for a durable solution to the old settlements.

Tanzania also hosts 110,000 Burundian refugees and 96,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in UNHCR-managed camps in Kigoma and Kagera regions.

More than 350,000 others have returned since the start of the repatriation programme from northwestern Tanzania to Burundi in March 2002, according to UNHCR.

Land issues

The refugees raised the issue of land and women’s rights with Guterres, whose visit coincided with International Women’s Day on 8 March.

"Our appeal to governments of Burundi and Tanzania is that women must have access to land, education and healthcare facilities," one of the messages read. "This should be the case for those returning to Burundi and those opting to take up Tanzanian citizenship."

John Magufuli, former Tanzanian land minister, told IRIN the country's laws prevented a foreigner from occupying land. Only through naturalisation could one expect the right of occupancy.

Kagasheki said those who would apply for Tanzanian citizenship through naturalisation should not expect to continue living in the settlements. "They will relocate to other parts of the country," he said.

In a meeting on 10 March with donors in the commercial capital of Dar es Salam, Guterres renewed an appeal to the international community to support the resettlement programme.

"Tanzania has assured the protection of refugees on behalf of the international community," he told a news conference. "It is now time for the rest of the world to show solidarity with Tanzania, especially in the phase of final integration in the country."

The programme will rely heavily on support from donors and on 21 February, UNHCR launched an appeal for US$34.29 million. So far, pledges totalling almost $9 million have been received.

Guterres hailed the so-called "1972 refugees", saying they were not a heavy burden on the agency and the host country because they were able to feed themselves and sell their surplus produce in markets near their settlements.

"During my visit, most of the land reserved for the settlement was intensively cultivated and different crops were doing well. It was all green," he said.

The low social status of Burundi's women leaves them vulnerable to sexual violence, while cultural taboos prevent them from seeking help. This is compounding their risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In its annual report, Ligue ITEKA, a local human rights group, found that despite the end of 13 years of war, when ethnic and sexual violence were common, and a return to democracy in 2005, sexual violence continued to rise, with 1,930 cases reported in 2006, compared with 983 in 2003.

"Sexual intercourse being the most common mode of HIV transmission, it goes without saying that rape, which in most cases is accompanied by physical trauma, drastically increases the risks of infection," Dr Jean Rirangira, technical manager at the National Council for HIV/AIDS control, CNLS, told IRIN/PlusNews.

The government and NGOs have developed several initiatives to help women and girls affected by sexual violence, but "only half the victims come for treatment", Rirangira said.

Shamed into silence

"The community almost blames the crime on the victim rather than the criminal; this makes them hold back," said Aline Ndayikeza, programme officer at Nturengaho 'STOP', a centre where women are offered post-exposure prophylactics (PEP) and trauma counselling after being sexually assaulted. "Many of those who come here tell us they are ashamed of telling their family for fear of their reaction."

Aline Iradukunda was 17 when she was accosted and raped on her way from church one Sunday evening. Although she was taken to hospital when her friends found her shortly afterwards, she did not receive PEP and a few months later found out she had contracted HIV.

"I felt so low ... as an orphan taking care of my young brother, with no possibility of continuing studies, life had no more a meaning," she told IRIN/PlusNews. Iradukunda's aunt, with whom she was living at the time, did not bother to send her back to school after the rape. She now does petty trading through Nturengaho.

Like many rape survivors in Burundi, she did not report her attack to the police, so her attacker has never been brought to justice.

According to Nturengaho's Ndayikeza, local traditions also condoned harmful sexual practices: rural women, especially, were subjected to sexual advances from their male in-laws, and refusing to have sex with a father-in-law could result in a woman being denied land or cattle that she ordinarily would be entitled to. Widow inheritance by brothers-in-law was also common.

"This was perhaps tolerated in a community with no HIV threat, but it is very dangerous now; many families have been completely decimated because of this practice," she commented.

Young girls and even infants were also at risk. An ITEKA survey in 2004 found that of the 2,173 people interviewed, 40 percent believed that "sexual violence with teenagers [children, especially infants, protects against HIV/AIDS, while 34.8 percent believe that teens are not infected."

The government and groups like ITEKA are providing legal aid to survivors of sexual violence but, according to Scholastique Ntirampemba of the ministry of national solidarity, human rights and gender, few women made use of the service.

"Many victims seem reluctant to start a legal procedure, as they know that in the long run the crime will not be taken seriously," Ntirampemba said. Her ministry's main focus has been on changing the community's perception of sexual violence, especially with regard to reporting it and assisting survivors.

She also noted that the penal code dealt too lightly with sex offenders, and said a revision of the code with stronger punishments urgently needed to be passed by parliament.

The CNLS's Rirangira agreed, and said the tougher stance should be accompanied by training for medical staff to ensure that they offered survivors the correct assistance, including training in testifying in sexual assault cases.

President Pierre Nkurunziza has made fighting HIV/AIDS a priority, and the government and its partners have set up several centres where women and girls can receive post-trauma counselling and medical attention.

Residents of 700 households, or about 4,000 people, have fled their homes in the northwest Burundi province of Bubanza following raids by suspected members of the country's last active rebel group, a government official said.

"For the time being, security is not good at all. Some residents have been beaten, while others have had their property looted," the governor of Bubanza, Pascal Nyabenda, told IRIN.

He said Forces nationales de libération (FNL) fighters had raided homes in Bubanza from their hideouts in the nearby Kibira and Rukoko forests. Those displaced were spending the nights in the compound of a local parish, venturing out for a few hours during the day to work in their fields, Nyabenda said.

He accused the FNL fighters of violating an agreement that required them to regroup in such locations as Kagirigiri, Masha and Nyenkarange.

On 3 September, residents of Buterere commune near the Burundian capital were forced to flee their homes after clashes broke out between rival FNL factions. The fighting left at least 20 rebels dead, before an uneasy calm returned to the area.

Nyabenda said some of the fighters involved in the clashes in Buterere had come from Bubanza.

FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana acknowledged that some FNL combatants had engaged in looting in Bubanza, but accused the international community of "failure to provide the pledged support", including food, clothing and medicines to the rebel group, under the stalled peace agreement.

He called for a change to the mediation team led by the South African security minister Charles Nqakula, saying he had failed to ensure the FNL received what it had been promised. African Union representative Mamadou Ba, however, ruled out any changes in the mediation team.

Nqakula rejected the FNL allegations and said the mediators were ensuring the safety of its leaders who attended peace talks with the government in Bujumbura.

The FNL, led by Agathon Rwasa, is the last active rebel movement in the country, despite signing a ceasefire agreement with the government in September 2006.

On 17 June, President Pierre Nkurunziza met Rwasa in Tanzania and agreed to reactivate that peace deal and to free FNL members imprisoned in Burundi. Critics say the agreement mainly addressed security issues, but was silent on power-sharing arrangements, yet the FNL has indicated it wanted a share of government positions.

Residents of Buterere commune near the Burundian capital of Bujumbura have returned to their homes after fleeing clashes between rebel factions that left 20 fighters dead.

An uneasy calm enveloped the commune, with residents saying the fighters had left the area. The Burundian army, however, vowed to crack down on the rebels unless they abandon their current positions.

"Our defence forces did not react quickly to calls to chase the combatants away from the population's neighbourhood," the defence minister, Lt-Gen Germain Niyoyankana, said on 5 September.

Urging the residents of Buterere to alert the armed forces when there were rebels in the area, he added: "They are the ones to suffer most when security is disturbed."

The clashes, which broke out on 3 September, forced hundreds of families to flee their homes as factions of the rebel Forces nationales de libération (FNL) clashed at Mugaruro where one of the FNL wings opposed to leader Agathon Rwasa had retreated into a small forest.

The Buterere administrator, Moise Ndayisenga, said residents and local administrators had been urging the FNL factions to move out of the area, pending their assembly for demobilisation or integration.

A local resident said: "We are happy the combatants have gone."

The defence minister urged the rebel leaders and combatants not to waste time and join other Burundians in building the country. "They should come and share with others what is available and discard the thinking that they can succeed in using weapons," he told reporters. "The army will not allow the formation of rebel strongholds, and will react strongly - with arms if necessary."

He called on the army not to engage in politics. "Officers who take part in political meetings do this on their own and not on behalf of the defence forces," Niyoyankana warned.

Earlier, FNL spokesman Pasteur Habimana had accused the government of creating a faction in the FNL to force a return of combatants who remained in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the movement returned to Burundi in 2003.

The clashes were the latest sign of tensions within the FNL. Two years ago, a breakaway faction accused Rwasa of gross human-rights violations. More recently, the FNL walked out of a ceasefire monitoring team set up after it signed a truce with the government in September 2006.

The team was to start work in February but it has been delayed by the wrangles. Burundi peace mediator and South African security minister Charles Nqakula has, however, said the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism would be relaunched soon so that the country's peace process could be concluded by the end of the year.

The April-July coffee harvest period in Burundi has been linked to increases in gender-based violence and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

It is not uncommon for women and children to be on the receiving end of both physical and emotional abuse during this period, CARE International, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the country, said in a new report.

"Men were described as becoming more violent during this period as a strategy to scare women away from raising any issues related to money," the NGO said.

The coffee harvesting season is a period when men have extra cash in their pockets derived from the proceeds of sales to coffee associations, though it is usually women that do most of the coffee-picking.

CARE International in Burundi carried out research to assess the impact of the coffee harvest on families and women in particular. CARE said it would share the results of the study with development actors in the country in a bid to create awareness of the negative impacts of the coffee harvest on women.

Increased alcohol consumption
It said other negative impacts of the coffee harvest include: an increase in alcohol consumption; the interruption of school attendance; an increase in the workload of women and men, with little or not benefit to women; an increase in adulterous behaviour among both men and women.

The results of the study, CARE hoped, would help identify possible activities to mitigate these negative impacts on women, and also identify possible activities or approaches for preventing and reducing household conflicts.

The study - carried out in March in the provinces of Gitega, Ngozi and Kayanza - involved discussion with groups of women and men as well as individual interviews. Coffee is an important cash crop for many families in these provinces.

Ideas for improving situation
CARE said that through its in-depth discussions with women and men covered by the study, a number of ideas and opportunities had emerged with the potential to improve the situation of women, particularly in relation to coffee production.

These, CARE said, include partnering with local coffee associations - which are mainly made up of men - to offer training and support in gender sensitive approaches such as conflict resolution.

"Offering training and support in financial management and investment strategies would address the knowledge gap in these areas (something men pointed out during discussions)," CARE reported.

It said it would scale up peace and conflict activities such as supporting training in conflict resolution as well as supporting community level monitoring of conflict.