Tanzania protests at Burundi shelling

Many Burundian refugees have fled to Tanzania

Tanzania's Government has sent an official letter of protest to Bujumbura after the Burundi civil war spilled across the border.

Three Tanzanian villages have reportedly been shelled but there is no information on any casualties.

Mandela tried to end the Burundi war

The BBC's Christine Otieno in Dar es Salaam says the affected villages are in a remote area and details may take some time to emerge.

Ethnic Hutu rebels have been fighting a Tutsi-dominated government in Burundi since1993.

Tanzania has called on Burundi to confine the fighting to its side of their border.

No peace

Last June, Tanzania accused the Burundian army of killing and stealing from Tanzanian civilians.

Relations between the two neighbours have been strained for some time, with Burundi accusing Tanzania of harbouring ethnic Hutu rebels who oppose the power-sharing government, led by Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya.

Tanzania denies the charges.

The new government, including some Hutu opponents of Mr Buyoya, was sworn in last year in a deal brokered by Nelson Mandela but some rebels groups refused to participate and the fighting has continued.

Hundreds of thousands of Burundians have fled the fighting and are based in refugee camps in Tanzania.