Burundi rebels kill 15 villagers

Hutus and Tutsis have been fighting since 1993

At least 15 villagers were killed and 12 wounded in a Christmas Day attack by suspected Hutu rebels on a village in southern Burundi.

Hundreds of rebels launched an attack before dawn on Butare, Rutana province, 150 km (95 miles) from the capital Bujumbura.

They burned down a school and a government building where people were seeking refuge from the fighting. Two women and two children were among the dead.

Local media later reported that four rebels had died in the fighting which was continuing in the area.

A local official blamed the Hutu rebel movement Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) for the attack.

Ethnic conflict

Burundi has been the scene of fighting between Hutus and Tutsis - the same groups involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide - since 1993. Over 200,000 people have died.

Nelson Mandela has tried to forge a peace deal

The FDD and another Hutu group, the National Liberation Forces, have rejected a peace accord brokered by Nelson Mandela which was signed by 19 other parties on 28 August.

And further talks broke down in November as Hutus and Tutsis failed to agree on who should lead the country's transitional government.