S. Africa awaits UN guidance over Burundi

South Africa says it has not yet decided whether to send peacekeeping forces to Burundi, but was waiting for guidance from the United Nations Security Council.

The former South African president, Nelson Mandela -- the mediator in the current Burundi peace process -- asked South Africa two weeks ago to send troops to help protect rebel leaders returning home to take their place in a new transitional government which is due to be installed on the first of November.

In a statement, the South African cabinet said it remained committed to help implement the peace agreements in Burundi, and this included contributing to a multi-national force to protect the country's leaders.

The South Africans say that a contingent of thirty soldiers arrived in Burundi last week, but they were there merely to make arrangements for a possible larger force.

Burundi has been embroiled in a civil war for the past eight years in which more than 200,000 people have been killed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service