East Africa Correspondent Cathy Jenkins: Decision was widely expected

The sanctions were imposed by Burundi's neighbours after Major Pierre Buyoya took power in a military coup in July 1996.

But those same countries decided on Saturday to suspend the sanctions for as long as the peace talks continue to show progress.

The poor have been hit hard by the sanctions

"The regional leaders have unanimously agreed that sanctions should be suspended, not removed completely, but suspended," Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said at a summit in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha.

International aid agencies welcomed the decision. The United Nations Food Programme described it as a major step in restoring the country's ability to meet its food needs.

"Many families could no longer afford to grow enough food or buy supplies in the market," said Thomas Yanga, WFP's Burundi representative. "This meant people were eating less and becoming more vulnerable to malnutrition and disease."

The WFP says it has distributed more than 67,000 tonnes of food in the last two-and-a-half years to offset the impact of sanctions and the war which has killed around 150,000 people and displaced a further 600,000.

'Peace by 2000'

The summit meeting was also attended by the leaders of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia and senior government officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.

Mr Buyoya, now Burundi's president, pledged to push forward with efforts to bring a quick end to the war between his Tutsi-led government and Hutu rebel groups.

Mr Buyoya: Pushing for peace

"The government of Burundi shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that we arrive at a peace agreement that is all-inclusive by the end of the year," he said.

Burundi's civil war began in 1993 when Tutsi paratroopers murdered the country's first democratically elected president, a Hutu.

Mr Buyoya said his coup was necessary to stem the bloodshed. The sanctions, which initially included a total trade embargo and a ban on flights in and out of Burundi, were imposed a week later.

Most observers agree the country's poor have born the brunt of the embargo - which they say has been widely flouted and ineffective.

Rebels say sanctions should stay

Although Burundi's main pro-Hutu political party Frodebu supported the suspension of sanctions, Hutu rebel groups say it could discourage the president from making concessions in peace talks.

"You cannot expect him to be honest," said Jean-Marie Sindayigaya, a spokesman for the rebel National Council for Defence of Democracy, before the summit.

He opposed the lifting of sanctions until a final peace agreement was reached.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights group, is urging the heads of state to impose a regional arms embargo against Burundi's government and the rebels.