Deal to End Civil War Signed Despite Mutiny
Hours after surviving a coup attempt, President Pierre Buyoya sealed a power-sharing deal with Hutu politicians designed to end Burundi’s eight-year civil war.
Tutsi soldiers mutinied against the deal before midnight Sunday, setting off a battle with assault rifles and grenades in the capital, Bujumbura. Loyalist troops pursued the mutineers. Army spokesman Col. Augustin Nzadamtema said 11 junior officers were arrested. Two mutineers were reported killed.
As the coup attempt was put down, Buyoya wrapped up negotiations at a regional summit in Arusha, Tanzania, that made him the leader of a new transitional government.
Under the plan, Buyoya, a Tutsi, will lead for 18 months, with a Hutu as vice president. A Hutu will be president for the next 18 months. Elections will then be held.
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