BUJUMBURA, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - At least seven suspected members of a breakaway faction of Burundi's last active rebel group have been killed by their rivals in an attack near the capital, the initerior minister said Monday.

Evariste Ndayishimiye said gunmen allied to National Liberation Forces (FNL) leader Agathon Rwasa attacked a camp south of Bujumbura late Sunday, killing the seven.

The attack was the third by the FNL against their rivals. Experts say about 1,400 fighters from the splinter group are housed in two camps and protected by the Burundian military.

BUJUMBURA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Burundi's last active rebel group was urged Saturday to implement a 2006 ceasefire as it boycotted a meeting aimed to put the central African nation's derailed peace process back on track.

'It's a matter of deep regret that they didn't take on this invitation,' said South African mediator Charles Nqakula of the National Liberation Forces (FLN) rebels. '

Nqakula, who is South Africa's security minister, added: 'But again, I ask them to come back to the JVMM (Joint Verification Monitoring Mechanism meeting) unconditionally.'

BUJUMBURA, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Two Burundian lawmakers on Wednesday quit President Pierre Nkurunziza's ruling party, already beset by defections that have diminished its strength in parliament.

The pair, who accused Nkurunziza of being a dictator, bring to at least 22 lawmakers who have abandoned the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party since February.

'I have decided to resign from the CNDD-FDD and its parliamentary group because of dictatorial leadership,' Theophile Minyurano told reporters.

PRETORIA, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - A new initiative to put the stalled Burundi peace process back on track will be launched in the capital Bujumbura this weekend, the chief mediator said on Monday.

A meeting of the Joint Verification Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) will be held on Saturday and the rebel group Palipehutu-FNL, which walked out of negotiations three months ago, has been invited, said Charles Nqakula.

It will discuss ceasefire, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of the rebel troops, as well as the release of political and war prisoners.

BUJUMBURA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Unidentified gunmen shot dead three top members of Burundi's last active rebel group and injured a fourth outside a restaurant in central Bujumbura, the police and army said Sunday.

'Last night (Saturday), three chiefs from the dissident FNL were killed and a fourth hurt in an attack with automatic weapons in front of the 'L'Albatros de Bwiza' bar-restaurant,' a police officer requesting anonymity told AFP.

Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza confirmed the shooting.

DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Regional African leaders will gather in Tanzania to consider the fate of Burundi's last active rebels whose activities have stalled the implementation of a truce, an official said Monday.

'We are now having consultations for the purpose of convening a regional summit soon to deliberate on the fate of FNL (National Liberation Forces),' said Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe.

BUJUMBURA, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - The chief mediator in Burundi has called on the country's last active rebel group to rejoin ceasefire efforts, saying he would not resign after the group accused him of bias.

The National Liberation Forces (FNL) last month refused to attend planned talks with the government in Dar es Salaam, saying they rejected South African Charles N'qakula as mediator.

GENEVA, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - A policeman from the central African country of Burundi and two university professors from Sri Lanka Lanka have been named as the top human rights defenders for 2007 by a Swiss-based rights group.

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a former policeman turned human rights activist in Burundi, will share the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders with Rajan Hoole and Kopalasingham Sritharan, who have set up a project to monitor rights abuses by all parties in Sri Lanka Lanka's conflict.

BUJUMBURA, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Burundi's main opposition party Frodebu said Friday it could return to the government following a deal reached with the presidential party.

'There are no longer any obstacles to Frodebu's return to the government,' party chairman Leonce Ngendukumana told AFP.

On Thursday, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that a deal had been reached between his party and opposition forces, ending a tense political standoff.

BUJUMBURA, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Burundi's president said Thursday a deal had been reached with the opposition to end a months-old political deadlock in the troubled central African nation.

'We have held consultations with the heads of the political parties represented in parliament and we have agreed on a number of solutions,' President Pierre Nkurunziza said in an address to the nation.