BUJUMBURA, July 6, 2008 (AFP) - Burundi's National Liberation Forces announced the suspension of a scheduled roundup of troops in a protest against the government's refusal to recognise the rebel group as a political party.

'We cannot continue gathering our fighters while on the other side nothing is done, and while the government refuses to recognise the Palipehutu-FNL as a political party,' said FNL leader Agathon Rwasa.

The Palipehutu is the rebels' political branch.

'It is simple, the Palipehutu-FNL should be recognised as a political party, it is a condition for the roundup to take place,' he said during his first press conference since his May 30 return to Burundi.

FNL began assembling its troops June 16 and sent around 150 rebels to northwestern Burundi, Rwasa said.

According to the terms of a peace agreement recently brokered by the European Union and Switzerland, the FNL was to round up its troops to the west and northwest of the country.

FNL said it suspended the assembly of troops at the beginning of June and, at the press conference, Rwasa placed the blame on the international community.

'It's blackmail...and we call on Burundians to once again mobilise for peace and be ready to take up the roundup of our fighters,' he said.

An initial peace deal between FNL and the government was signed in 2006, three years after a civil war claimed 300,000 lives.

The east African country is still emerging, with difficulty, from the conflict that began in 1993, mainly pitting rebels from the Hutu majority population against the Tutsi minority, which then dominated the army.

A power-sharing government was formed in 2001, while clashes were still taking place. South Africa mediated among the different sides until almost all the rebel groups agreed to a ceasefire.