The UN refugee agency's operations chief believes there is an end in sight to the problem of hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees in Tanzania. "After more than three decades, there is hope to end this protracted refugee situation," Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Judy Cheng-Hopkins said in Bujumbura on Monday at the end of a 10-day mission to Tanzania and Burundi.

About 1,400 families (8,400 people) displaced in Musigati commune in the northwestern province of Bubanza, following fighting between government forces and the Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL), desperately need help, according to local officials. Laurent Kagamba, adviser to the Musigati administrator, said that since the simultaneous attacks on three military positions on 28 December and another on 9 January in the same commune, residents had fled their homes.

The United Nations Security Council has welcomed efforts to bring lasting peace to Burundi, calling for a consolidation of progress in the country, which is rebuilding after being torn apart by 13 years of armed conflict.

Yves Sahinguvu, 58, has been voted by the lawmakers as the 1st Vice President of Burundi. Sahinguvu replaced Martin Nduwimana who had resigned from the post. Like his predecessor, the new Vice President is also a key member of the Tutsi-dominated UPRONA political party.

Even though Burundian laws are silent on homosexuality, organisations in that country such as Association pour le Respect et les Droits des Homosexuels’ (ARDHO) – a gay rights organisation formed in 2003 – have organised themselves in order to create awareness about, to advocate for and to protect gay rights. ARDHO has been working since 2003 for the recognition of the rights and the respect of sexual minorities in that country. As a pressure group, it works mainly with NGOs fighting against HIV/ Aids.

Thousands of teachers and hundreds of nurses in Burundi went on strike last month to protest the government’s inability to meet its commitments to increase wages and improve working conditions. In an attempt to end the strike, the government reiterated its promises to grant civil servants the 34 percent pay raise that it announced in May 2007. It remains unclear, however, whether the government will be able to keep up its end of the bargain.

The resignation of First Deputy President Martin Nduwimana should help break a crippling political impasse and expedite peace talks in Burundi, according to an opposition leader. Nduwimana resigned on 7 November, saying he wanted to give the country's institutions a chance to resume work. “I handed my resignation to the head of state who accepted it,” Nduwimana said. “I don’t want to be an obstacle to peace.”

Fighters of Burundi's last active rebel group have for the second time in one week attacked a position occupied by a break-away faction, forcing villagers to flee their homes, a senior military official said. The evening raid by combatants of the Front National de Liberation (FNL), led by Agathon Rwasa, took place on 24 October evening on a site where the so-called FNL "dissidents" have gathered in Gakungwe village of Kabezi commune in Bujumbura Rural province.

Amnesty International and ACAT -- Burundi (Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture) have called on the Burundian government to take immediate action to protect women and girls from rape and other sexual violence in Burundi. Despite the fact that the rape of women and girls is widespread throughout the country, the Burundian authorities have systematically failed to take concrete steps to prevent, investigate and punish these crimes. As a result, perpetrators regularly escape prosecution and punishment by the state and victims are left without protection.

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission has called on the last major rebel hold-out group in Burundi to 'resume promptly without condition' its participation in efforts to finally close the chapter on years of ethnic violence in the small Central African country. In July the Palipehutu-FNL, which has not signed peace accords reached with other rebel groups, withdrew from the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) set up to monitor a ceasefire it signed with the Government last year, and UN officials have since called on both sides to refrain from any actions that might lead to a resumption of hostilities.

As postwar Burundi prepares for a reconciliation process based on South Africa's, women's rights advocates say the first step must be bringing the perpetrators of sexual violence to justice. Second in a series on African women and the rule of law.

At least 20 Burundi fighters were killed on Tuesday in heavy clashes between two rival rebel factions that sent scores of residents fleeing the capital's northern suburbs, witnesses said. Machine gunfire and explosions shattered the air as insurgents opposed to Agathon Rwasa, the leader of the rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL), battled fighters loyal to him.

This latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the need for a negotiated solution with the PALIPEHUTU-FNL to break a dangerous stalemate that could seriously undermine the consolidation of peace and democracy. Little progress has been made since the signing of the ceasefire agreement on 7 September 2006. At the end of July, the hasty departure from Bujumbura of the rebel delegation negotiating implementation of that agreement precipitated widespread fears fighting could resume.

The Peace and Security Commissioner of the African Union (AU), Saïd Djinit, arrived in Bujumbura Monday afternoon on a three-day working visit, aimed at gathering information on the current political and security situation in the country, a diplomatic source said here.

Thousands of children and adults living rough on the streets of Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, face a daily struggle to eat and find a warm corner to sleep in; many blot out the reality of their situation by turning to sex and drugs. Sexual violence is also prevalent, as people living on the streets of Bujumbura are vulnerable to sexual attacks and often have nowhere to turn.

Burundi’s future appeared rosy as international donors pledged US$665.6 million in May for a three-year poverty reduction plan, but a brewing political crisis could upset everything, say observers. The crisis, both within the ruling party and outside it, began early in 2007 when Hussein Radjabu, chairman of the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) party, was sidelined.

Several months ago, residents of the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, were struggling with disposal of household waste. Fast forward to June 2007, and matters have taken a turn for the better -- thanks to a waste management process imported from neighbouring Rwanda, and put into effect by the recently-created Association for Development and the Fight Against Poverty (Association pour le développement et la lutte contre la pauvreté, ADLP).

ACDI/VOCA is currently seeking a Chief of Party for an upcoming three- to five-year agribusiness program in Burundi, involving issues of productivity, policy and market access. Possible start date is August 2007.

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.

Burundi has made some progress towards democracy but it needed to strengthen the judiciary to ensure justice, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said. "Democracy cannot faction without the institution that nurtures a culture of participation and respect for justice," Louise Arbour said in the capital, Bujumbura, on Wednesday.