Burundi rebels cut vital power line

The Burundian capital, Bujumbura, is without electricity following an attack by rebels on a power line in the north-east of the country.

An official of the national electricity company said the rebels, from the National Liberation Forces, had cut the transmission line near Nyarunyegeri in Bubanza province.

The line provides seventy per cent of the country's electricity supplies. A similar incident in 1995 led to stringent rationing of electricity for a year.

But the company said it was better placed this time to repair the break.

The National Liberation Forces is one of two Hutu groups which have failed to sign a peace accord.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service