The Forces for National Liberation (FNL), Burundi's last active rebel group, announced this week the end of its armed struggle and became a political party.

But that has left thousands of ex-combattants, like 24-year-old Ndihokubwayo, loitering in a makeshift camp outside Bujumbura and seething with anger as they face an uncertain future.

Some 3,500 FNL fighters are to be integrated into the country's police and army following a deal struck between the rebels and the government, but thousands more have not been promised work. They will be demobilised and are expected to return home.

"I have been an FNL fighter for the past five years. I fought and I was nearly killed on several occasions. I was arrested and tortured. Today I am being thrown out," said a livid Jean Nsengiyumva.

The 28-year-old, still wearing his jungle fatigues, watched as a truck rolled into the Rubira camp to fetch hundreds of his fellow ex-militants to be reintegrated into the security forces.

Around 5,000 former FNL combatants will be demobilised by next month alongside more than 10,000 allied fighters who will return to civilian life with a pay package worth 62 euros (82 dollars).

"That is the reward I get after fighting for six years. A tent for a roof, no toilets, no water, no food," said Ndihokubwayo, lamenting the living conditions at Rubira camp, consisting in two huge iron sheet-walled buildings and a scattering of spartan tents.

Even as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the FNL for completing its disarmament on Wednesday, Burundians worry the former rebels may turn against the population as they struggle to survive.

"I am afraid, very afraid because these fighters have sworn to live off the population," said Lucie Nsabimana, tilling her farm less than five kilometres (three miles) from the Rubira camp.

"The authorities should do something for them otherwise there will be no real peace in this country," she said, explaining that the ex-rebels had already stolen all her rice stock.

The FNL declared the end of its armed battle, closing the chapter on Burundi's civil conflict that erupted in 1993 and claimed some 300,000 lives. The move has also raised hopes for a fresh start for the impoverished central African state.

But army spokesman Adolphe Manirakiza acknowledged the security threat posed by the thousands of demobilised fighters.

"Insecurity is high in this country... and it will rise with this new wave of demobilisation," Manirakiza told AFP.

In a country which is 90 percent rural, the ex-fighters are "scared to return to their former miserable lives without a job, land to farm... a hopeless life," said Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, the head of a local rights group.

"They are desperate and are ready to do anything. It is a real bomb that is going to be exploded in the countryside," Mbonimpa said.

Still FNL leader Agathon Rwasa has hailed the disarmament of his forces as a "memorable" day and the fulfillment of the December accord which removed the final obstacles to the delayed implementation of a peace deal reached in September 2006.

Burundi's long civil war pitted the army, once dominated by minority Tutsis, against various rebel Hutu movements.

But tribal tensions have eased somewhat and Burundi is now led by a former Hutu rebel leader, and strict guidelines mandate that both the army and police contain a mixture of both Hutu and Tutsi personnel.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News