African leaders end Burundi peace talks

Bujumbura – Five African heads of state met with Burundi’s president in Bujumbura on Friday at the end of a two-day visit to push for talks to end the country’s political crisis.
The delegation’s visit came just days after a trip by UN chief Ban Ki-moon as international efforts to bring an end to 10 months of deadly turmoil are stepped up.
Ban secured a promise of “inclusive dialogue” from President Pierre Nkurunziza.
The African Union agreed to send the delegation – headed by SA’s President Jacob Zuma and including the leaders of Ethiopia, Gabon, Mauritania and Senegal – during its January summit when Burundi successfully faced down a plan to deploy 5 000 peacekeepers to the country.
Burundi’s crisis was triggered by Nkurunziza’s controversial decision last April to run for a third term which he won in an election in July.
More than 400 people have been killed since April while more than 240 000 have left the country and violent attacks have become routine, raising fears of a return to the civil war fought between 1993-2006 in which around 300 000 people died.