Burundian army says 7,000 flee area of attack

Military officials in Burundi say about seven-thousand people have fled the area around Bujumbura airport following a rebel attack on Thursday, in which at least one-hundred-and-eighty civilians died.

An army spokesman, Colonel Mamert Sinarinzi, said those fleeing had sought protection elsewhere, including at nearby military bases The army says about one-thousand Hutu rebels were involved in the attack on the airport, and that they killed the civilians as they retreated through a nearby village.

Colonel Sinarinzi said scores of Hutu men were helping soldiers search for the rebels.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service