No final peace deal for Burundi

Talks aimed at ending seven years of fighting in Burundi have failed to produce a comprehensive settlement.

Many of the nineteen different groups involved in the talks, representing both Tutsis and Hutus, failed to turn up at a ceremony in the Tanzanian town of Arusha to sign an interim agreement.

Several regional heads of state and President Clinton had gathered in the expectation of witnessing the signing of a definitive peace accord.

Nelson Mandela -- the chief mediator between the warring parties -- accused some members of the main Tutsi coalition of sabotaging the process after they refused to attend the ceremony.

Mr Mandela said some groups were promoting their own self-interest rather than doing what was right for the people of Burundi. The seven-year conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi has claimed an estimated two-hundred-thousand lives.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service