World IN BRIEF : BURUNDI : 15 Die as Ethnic Violence Escalates

At least nine people were killed and pandemonium erupted when Hutu militias attacked a Tutsi neighborhood in Burundi’s capital, residents and the army said. Six more people were killed in attacks in central Burundi, state radio said. Lt. Col. Longa Minani said militias had emerged from mainly Hutu districts in Bujumbura and let loose with intense volleys of gunfire. Troops from the mainly Tutsi government army fired four mortar rounds into the hills overlooking the capital, where thousands of civilian refugees and Hutu militiamen have fled in recent weeks after sweeps by security forces. In an effort to contain the violence, President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya announced emergency measures a week ago that included rule by presidential decree, a ban on political rallies.