* Africa. Sahara desert frontiers turn green — Satellite pictures of northern Africa show that areas lost to the Sahara desert during decades of drought are turning green again. Analysis of images show deserts retreating in a broad band stretching from Mauritania to Eritrea, according to research in British magazine New Scientist. The driving force behind the retreat of the deserts is believed to be increased rainfall. Better farming methods have also played a critical role, according to researchers. Twenty years ago, severe droughts turned much of northern Burkina Faso into a desert. But satellite surveys of the region have shown that vegetation is returning to the country — and, indeed, across the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The surveys were funded by Dutch, German and American aid agencies, and will be presented to ministers in Burkina Faso later this year. And new comparisons with archived images also show increasing grassland and forest vegetation in southern Mauritania, north-western Niger, central Chad, as well as in Sudan and parts of Eritrea. And the researchers say that while overall improvements have been steady, dramatic progress has been made in particular villages and areas, particularly those where donor agencies have invested consistently in soil and water conservation. One particularly successful farming technique is known as «contour bunding». It consists in placing lines of stones along slopes and contours on the land to help rainfall soak in, and to stop topsoil washing away. And that is helping to transform thousands of hectares into productive fields — where nothing grew just a decade ago. (BBC News, UK, 18 September 2002)

* Afrique. Méningite — Des dizaines de milliers d’Africains risquent de mourir d’une méningite à méningocoque de type W135, dit “de la Mecque”, faute d’un vaccin à prix abordable, selon Médecins sans frontières (MSF) et l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS). Cette souche de méningite a été identifiée en Afrique pour la première fois en février au Burkina Faso. Plus de 12.000 personnes ont été contaminées et près de 1.500 en sont mortes. Le vaccin généralement utilisé dans la “ceinture méningitique”, qui s’étend du Sénégal à l’Ethiopie, protège uniquement des types A et C. Selon l’OMS, une campagne de vaccination permettrait d’empêcher 70% des nouvelles contaminations. MSF a appelé les gouvernements à faire pression sur l’industrie pharmaceutique pour qu’elle augmente sa production du vaccin et en baisse le prix, qui varie actuellement de $4 au Moyen-Orient à $50 aux Etats-Unis. Selon l’ONG, les deux compagnies qui produisent ce vaccin devraient le proposer à moins d’un dollar l’unité. La méningite tue environ 170.000 personnes par an, la plupart en Afrique. (AP, 19 septembre 2002)

* Africa. New meningitis strain threatens Africa — Tens of thousands of Africans could die this year from a Middle Eastern strain of meningitis because of a lack of affordable vaccine, aid agencies said on 19 September. The aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières claimed the problem stemmed from lack of government and international pressure on drug companies. The W135 strain, believed to have been carried from the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, was identified in Africa for the first time this year. The vaccine usually used in Africa’s «meningitis belt» that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia only protects against strains A and C. The World Health Organization and government officials, donors and drug companies will meet next week in Burkina Faso to discuss the problem. Drug makers say they are doing all they can but are open to ideas. The first outbreak of W135 meningitis was discovered in Burkina Faso in February. More than 12,000 people were infected, with almost 1,500 deaths. Meningitis is a bacterial infection of membranes around the brain and spinal cord that is spread through close contact with an infected person or by droplets in the air from coughing or sneezing. The disease kills around 170,000 people per year, almost all in Africa. (CNN, USA, 19 September 2002)

* Africa. AU ministers approve anti-corruption laws — African Union (AU) ministers meeting in Addis Ababa have backed tough new laws aimed at wiping out corruption that has cost the continent an estimated US $148 billion. They signed up to 26 articles which are expected to be adopted as a convention by African heads of state at the AU summit in Maputo, Mozambique next year. The move will see countries agreeing to extradite officials who are suspected or have been convicted of corruption. Governments will also have the power to confiscate documents from banks to help with convictions. The AU also wants both civil society and the media to play a role in the fight. But within the anti-corruption blueprint is also an article guaranteeing fair trials to those arrested for corruption. The laws also include a «Double Jeopardy» rule, which means that no-one can ever be tried for the same crime twice. (IRIN, Kenya, 20 September 2002)

* Afrique. Les pays développés devant leurs promesses — Le 24 septembre, à la veille des assemblées générales de la Banque mondiale (BM) et du FMI, le président de la BM, James Wolfensohn, a demandé aux pays développés de respecter leurs promesses, en revenant sur leurs politiques commerciales protectionnistes qui tendent à aggraver la pauvreté des pays en développement. Faisant allusion aux engagements pris par les pays riches à l’issue des sommets de Doha, Monterrey et Johannesburg, il a exhorté les pays riches à prêcher par l’exemple, en réduisant notamment les tarifs douaniers, les subventions et autres obstacles aux efforts consentis par  les pays pauvres. “Les tarifs douaniers progressifs (des droits de douane qui sont au plus bas sur les matières premières non transformées et qui augmentent de manière abrupte à chaque étape de la transformation) nuisent à l’activité de la transformation et à l’emploi dans les industries dans lequelles les pays en développement seraient, en temps normal, compétitives”, a dit M. Wolfensohn. Par exemple, les crêtes tarifaires ont confiné le Ghana et la Côte d’Ivoire à l’exportation de fèves de cacao non transformées, l’Ouganda et le Kenya à l’exportation de grains de café brut, et le Mali et le Burkina Faso à l’exportation de coton brut. Le président de la BM a par ailleurs critiqué les subventions à l’agriculture consenties par les pays riches pour un montant de quelque 350 milliards de dollars par an, soit environ un milliard de dollars par jour et qui provoquent la faillite des paysans des pays pauvres. (PANA, Sénégal, 24 septembre 2002)

* Africa. Action against the Media — Congo RDC: A journalist with the UN peace-building radio network in Congo, has been arrested in the northwestern city of Gbadolite by the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba. Franklin Moliba-Sese, who works for the UN‘s Radio Okapi, has been held by the MLC since 13 September. They were angered by a report of Moliba’s on the wretched living conditions of thousands of child soldiers serving in the MLC army. He was freed on 21 September. Côte d’Ivoire: On 23 September, the Ivorian government explained new measures to censor the media, in what it described as a «state of war». Foreign journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to operate. The BBC and RFI have been blamed for stirring things up. Eritrea: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) confirms (on 20 September) that four more journalists are in prison. The CPJ had previously confirmed the detention if 14 journalists. Senegal: In a 23 September press release, the International Federation of Journalists condemned the death threats against journalists in Casamance. Sudan: On 24 September, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said that three newspapers and one journalist in Sudan have incurred the wrath of the Sudanese government after they publicly chastised it for withdrawing from peace talks in Kenya. Zambia: On 16 September, freelance photographer Henry Salim was assaulted from a stone thrown by opposition United Party for National development supporters. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2002)

* Africa. African countries may be source of uranium — On 24 September, Tony Blair, Britain’s prime minister, said Iraq was suspected of sourcing significant quantities of uranium that could be used for a nuclear weapons programme from deposits or nuclear  stockpiles in Africa. Africa accounts for 20 per cent of global production of uranium. Namibia, Niger, South Africa and Gabon are the main producers. However, Congo RDC, which has been destabilised by a four-year civil war, is a more likely source of smuggled uranium. Congo’s largest uranium mine is Shinkolobwe in the southern province of Katanga, an area under the control of Zimbabwean forces. But the mine is flooded and in a state of disrepair, according to mining sources. In 1998 Italian police arrested 13 men as they were about to sell an unirradiated uranium fuel rod to the Mafia. The rod had been stolen from a nuclear research reactor in the Congolese capital Kinshasa. Nuclear industry sources said that a second uranium fuel rod which went missing from the Kinshasa reactor has never been found. The reactor, still operational despite five years of civil war, was built by Belgium and fuelled by US uranium sent in 1971. Its outer wall was hit by a mortar during fighting, and the reactor is widely seen by experts as highly insecure. At Africa’s main uranium producers, production is strictly monitored and sales to power stations for electricity generation are made under exclusive contracts. Experts say it is highly unlikely that any uranium could be smuggled out. In the former French colonies of Niger and Gabon, production is in the hands of Cogema, the French company which specialises in the nuclear fuel cycle and is number two in the field. In Namibia, production is controlled by Rio Tinto, the global mining giant, and largely sold to French electricity supplier EdF under a long-term supply agreement. In South Africa, uranium is produced by AngloGold, the mining company, as a by-product of gold production. South Africa, however, is the only sub-Saharan African state to have had an advanced programme to produce enriched uranium. It dismantled its weapons capability in 1991, but analysts have long suspected it sparked a trade in nuclear secrets, expertise and materials seeking a new home. «The controls on nuclear material are uneven. Security is as good as its weakest link and loose nuclear material in any country is a potential threat to the entire world,» said Mohamed el-Baradei, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. On 25 September, a senior Congolese official, Victor Mpoyo, a minister of state who was previously the closest adviser to Laurent Kabila, said that requests to have the uranium removed from the Kinshasa reactor have yet to bring a decision, but that negotiations were ongoing. (Financial Times, UK, 25 & 26 September 2002)

* Africa. Developing countries «hooked on aid» — An evaluation of lending programmes has concluded that many countries have become stubbornly reliant on aid from international lending bodies. The report, produced by the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), also found that prolonged use of IMF initiatives has expanded considerably over the past two decades. «Prolonged use is a  large, growing and persisting issue,» said David Goldsbrough, IEO deputy director. «It raises questions about the effectiveness of programmes.» The report noted that while most prolonged users were low-income countries, protracted use was also a feature of so-called middle-income nations, such as the Philippines. Such examples showed that long-term use of IMF resources was not always of concern, Mr Goldsbrough said. For the purposes of its report, the IEO defined «prolonged users» as countries which had been involved in IMF programmes for at least seven years in any 10-year period. By that definition, about one-third of all countries are long-term users. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 September 2002)

* Afrique de l’Ouest. Améliorer la vie des enfants — Des experts des droits de l’enfant ouest-africain, qui ont achevé le 20 septembre une réunion de trois jours à Bamako, sont convenus d’adopter un cadre en cinq points destiné à améliorer les conditions de vie des enfants et à promouvoir leurs droits. Les domaines ciblés sont en premier lieu la promotion générale du bien-être de l’enfant (nutrition, vaccination...). Les efforts seront ensuite axés sur l’éducation, grâce à des réformes du système scolaire. Le troisième domaine prioritaire est le VIH/SIDA. Finalement on aborde la violence, les mauvais traitements et l’exploitation des enfants, ainsi que la nécessité d’associer les enfants à la recherche de solutions à leurs problèmes. Le document devra être approuvé par les ministres chargés des questions de l’enfant, avant de pouvoir être adopté par les chefs d’Etat lors du prochain sommet de la CEDEAO en octobre prochain à Dakar. (IRIN, Abidjan, 23 septembre 2002)

* Horn of Africa. Almost polio free — The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners have reported that polio is close to being eradicated from the Horn of Africa. The WHO says Sudan may have beaten polio altogether, with no reported cases of the disease for over a year. However the health agency is appealing for continued funding to eradicate polio worldwide. Two years ago, there were more than 300 cases of polio a year across Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. This year, only Somalia has reported cases so far. At a meeting of the Polio Eradication Initiative in Kenya, the initiative’s director, Bruce Aylward, said that polio’s days in Africa are numbered, even in countries where conflicts have ravaged domestic health systems. Dr Aylward praised the work of thousands of health officials and volunteers, whom he said had on occasion literally dodged bullets to carry out scheduled mass immunisation campaigns. (BBC News, UK, 25 September 2002)

* Algeria. Army versus guerrillas — 19 September: Twenty-four armed Islamists are reported to have been killed by government forces in Algeria as part of a renewed military campaign against rebel groups across the country. In a confrontation  in the hills of Mascara, 350 kilometres west of the capital, Algiers, government troops are said to have killed 15 members of Algeria’s Armed Islamic Group (GIA). The army killed a further three GIA members in the Guelma mountains in the south-east, as well as six more militants in the eastern Annaba region — reportedly after special agents infiltrated their group. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 September 2002)

* Algérie. Deux chefs du GIA abattus — Le 22 septembre, deux “émirs” du Groupe islamique armé (GIA) ont été tués par les forces de sécurité près de Constantine, à 430 km à l’est d’Alger. Les deux hommes, recherchés depuis une dizaine d’années, étaient des vétérans d’Afghanistan. Moussa Sellini et Mohamed Boudrâa, âgés de 30 et 56 ans, ont été abattus à Hamma Bouziane, un quartier périphérique de Constantine, dans la maison de Sellini où ils s’étaient réfugiés. (Le Soir, Belgique, 23 septembre 2002)

* Angola. Offensive in Cabinda — 20 September: The Angolan army has launched an offensive against separatist rebels who operate in the oil-rich enclave of Cabinda, according to reports from the area. A major offensive has been undertaken by the Angolan army and is continuing at this moment. Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by Congo RDC. It was handed to the Angolan Government by Portugal on independence in 1975 and accounts for a large part of the country’s oil revenues. On 18 September, a key Cabinda Enclave Liberation front (FLEC) leader who lives in exile in Europe, sent a letter to Cabinda’s bishop Paulino Madeka, asking him to mediate in talks between the government in Luanda and the pro-independence rebels. FLEC‘s Nzita Tiago also asked the bishop to help the various factions of FLEC to overcome their differences. The separatists argue that because Cabinda was administered separately from the rest of Angola in Portuguese colonial times, it should have formed a separate state on independence. But the main reason for the independence drive in Cabinda is economic, he says. The enclave produces about 60% of Angola’s oil wealth despite having only about 1% of the country’s total population. Hence an independent Cabinda would be a very rich state indeed. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 20 September 2002)

* Angola. Cabinda: offensive gouvernementale — Le 20 septembre, l’armée angolaise a lancé une vaste offensive contre les rebelles séparatistes de Cabinda, bande de terre angolaise située entre les deux Congos (Kinshasa et Brazza). Les combats les plus graves sont signalés dans le district de Belize et la forêt de Mayombe. Cabinda est un territoire côtier riche en pétrole. Protectorat angolais, il a été annexé par l’Angola en 1975. La lutte séparatiste, initiée la même année, a fait quelque 30.000 morts. Depuis plusieurs mois, le leader du Front de liberté de l’enclave de Cabinda-Forces armées de Cabinda  (FLEC-FAC), Stephen Barros, demande la tenue d’un référendum sur l’autodétermination et l’indépendance de la région, interpellant l’Onu. Depuis la signature du cessez-le-feu entre le gouvernement angolais et l’Unita, les opérations militaires en Cabinda se sont intensifiées. (Misna, Italie, 21 septembre 2002)

* Angola. Civil society demands a say in peace process — Civil society groups in Angola have demanded that citizens be allowed to play a more active role in a peace process which has so far been dominated by discussions between the government and the former rebel movement, UNITA. Trade unions, churches, and NGOs made their concerns known last week at a conference on «The Agenda for Peace and Reconciliation in the Republic of Angola» — the first time they had presented a united response to the political changes that followed the death in February of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. The Coalition for Reconciliation, Transparency and Citizenship, which organised the conference, also issued a strongly-worded challenge to the government, challenging the legitimacy of the present regime. Among the demands made by the conference were «that non-governmental organisations, community groups, associations and independent individuals commit themselves, in a responsible and united way, to taking action to strengthen civil society’s participation in the process of peace, reconciliation and democratisation in Angola». The conference also called for «direct and free participation by civil society organisations in the constitutional debate which is currently going on within the framework of the Constitutional Commission». (IRIN, Kenya, 25 september 2002)

* Burundi. Itaba: l’armée a tué — Que s’est-il passé le 9 septembre sur les collines d’Itaba, dans la province de Gitega? Près de 200 personnes (1.200 selon l’opposition), en grande majorité des civils, ont été massacrées par des hommes en uniforme. Le 19 septembre, après enquête, l’armée a présenté les conclusions suivantes: “Le 4 septembre, des assaillants ont été signalés sur les collines d’Itaba. Ecoutant les consignes de l’administration, la majorité de la population civile a quitté les collines pour se regrouper près des positions de l’armée. L’armée a attendu jusqu’au 9 septembre, pour être sûre que tous les civils soient partis, avant d’intervenir militairement. Les opérations ont été assez violentes. A l’issue des combats, l’armée a constaté les dégâts, trouvant des assaillants mais aussi des civils (...)”. Selon les conclusions écrites de l’enquête, il y a eu 173 victimes. Mais selon la commission des droits de l’homme du Parlement, le massacre a eu lieu alors qu’il n’y avait pas de combat... (D’après Le Soir, Belgique, 20 septembre 2002)

* Burundi. Unveiling an ambitious programme on governance — The Burundi government has announced an ambitious  programme of democratic, administrative and economic governance, the implementation of which would require funding to the tune of 90 million US dollars over the next three years. The programme, which was announced on 20 September, fits into the Burundi peace agreement signed in August 2000 in Arusha, Tanzania, according to vice-president Domitien Ndayizeye. Ndayizeye, who was speaking at a Workshop on Good Governance, stressed its importance in the quest for national reconciliation and development. He blamed the country’s turmoil since independence on misrule, and urged donors to fund the governance programme with a view to helping Burundi out of political and economic instability. (PANA, Senegal, 20 September 2002)

* Burundi. Aide alimentaire du PAM — Le Programme alimentaire mondial va distribuer quelque 6.000 tonnes de nourriture à plus de 500.000 personnes dans les provinces du Burundi les plus touchées par l’insécurité liée à la guerre civile. Cette aide est constituée de rations de protection des semences et sera fournie principalement aux provinces de Bujumbura rural (ouest), Ruyigi (est), Gitega, Muramvya, Mwaro, Karusi (centre), Makamba, Rutana (sud) et Muyinga (nord-est). Ces distributions seront effectuées deux fois par an, pendant la période de semis. Les combats répétés dans le pays ont eu comme conséquence un déplacement massif de la population. Des fermes entières ont été détruites et du bétail pillé. Environ 1,4 million de Burundais, principalement des déplacés, dépendent de l’aide alimentaire du PAM. (PANA, Sénégal, 21 septembre 2002)

* Burundi. Peace talks — 19 September: One of Burundi’s rebels group has pulled out of peace talks due to start in Tanzania today. The Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) said it would not attend for the time being, because of the Burundian army’s involvement in the deaths of 173 civilians in the central province of Gitega 10 days ago. The talks were to have been chaired by the South African Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, who chaired the first round of negotiations in Dar-es-Salaam last month. The peace talks, however, fail to start. 20 September: Three Burundian rebel movements say they plan to reconsider their participation in the transitional government as it has «no authority over the defence and security service» to protect the Burundi population. The statement is issued today by Leonard Nyangoma of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), Joseph Karumba of the Front for National Liberation (FROLINA), and Antoine Sezoya Ngabo, of the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu people (PALIPEHUTU) in response to the reported massacre in central Gitega province on 9 September. 21 September: Burundi’s government and a faction of the FDD hold separate peace talks with Zuma, to prepare for direct negotiations. FDD official Salvatore Ntacobamaza says that both parties have assigned two representatives each to work out a so-called Declaration of Commitment document that would bind then to the outcome of any direct ceasefire talks. When this Declaration is signed by delegation heads, direct negotiations on a ceasefire will start, he says. 23 September: MISNA reports that peace talks between the government and the FDD resumed this morning in Dar es Salaam. The FDD‘s leader, Pierre Nkurunziza wants to know: 1) If the political envoys conducting the negotiations only represent Burundi’s transitional government or if they are also able to talk in the name of the military forces. 2) A clear explanation is needed for the Gitega Province massacres. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 23 September 2002)

* Burundi. Négociations dans l’impasse — Les négociations pour un cessez-le-feu entre le gouvernement et divers mouvements rebelles devaient reprendre le samedi 21 septembre à Dar es-Salaam. Les négociations avaient été arrêtées parce qu’un des mouvements rebelles, le CNDD-FDD, observait le deuil après le massacre de civils la semaine dernière. Le premier round de négociations n’avait pas eu de résultats positifs. Le vice-président sud-africain, M. Zuma, médiateur dans le conflit, a indiqué que les parties devraient comprendre qu’elles n’ont plus beaucoup de temps devant elles, avant le dernier sommet sur le Burundi, prévu le 7 octobre à Arusha. - Le 23 septembre cependant, la médiation sud-africaine a semblé jeter l’éponge. M. Zuma a en effet reconnu son échec à ouvrir les négociations entre le gouvernement et deux rébellions hutu. Ces dernières posent des conditions à l’ouverture des négociations qui sont rejetées par Bujumbura. Aucune date n’a été donnée pour un nouveau cycle de discussions. M. Zuma a réaffirmé le sommet régional du 7 octobre, mais sans en préciser l’ordre du jour. Il a toutefois prolongé son séjour à Dar es-Salaam pour poursuivre la médiation. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 24 septembre 2002)

* Burundi. «Juvenile Justice in Burundi» — In a report published on 24 September, Amnesty International highlights the multiple abuses children are suffering at the hands of the law. The report states that relatively speaking, the number of children in detention in Burundi is quite small. Child detainees are however speared none of the abuses afflicted on adult detainees. The report states that some are tortured, some detained for long periods of time without trial, often in conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The majority are detained with adults and are vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Few benefit from the assistance of a lawyer. Among other requests, Amnesty International calls on the government to end the practice of incommunicado detention for children; to issue clear instructions that torture or ill-treatment of detainees is never to be permitted; to monitor the situation of children in custody. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 September 2002)

* Burundi. A.I.: le drame des enfants — Dans un document rendu public le 24 septembre, Amnesty International attire l’attention sur les enfants au Burundi, dans une situation de violence. On peut y lire entre autres: “Rien n’a été épargné aux enfants qui sont quotidiennement confrontés à la violence. Des enfants sont sommairement exécutés ou tués de manière délibérée et arbitraire, torturés, placés en détention arbitraire et utilisés comme enfants-soldats. (...) L’un des domaines où les enfants sont particulièrement exposés aux violations de leurs droits est celui de la justice. La population carcérale burundaise est majoritairement masculine et adulte. Le nombre des enfants détenus est relativement faible: environ 160 des quelque 9.000 prisonniers ont moins de 18 ans. Mais aucune des atteintes infligées aux détenus ne leur est épargnée. Des enfants sont arrêtés en dépit des procédures, certains sont torturés et d’autres maintenus en détention pendant plusieurs années sans inculpation ni jugement, dans des conditions qui s’apparentent souvent à un traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant. Certains se plaignent d’avoir subi des sévices sexuels en détention, beaucoup sont atteints de malnutrition et ont perdu tout contact avec leur famille”. Le rapport formule des suggestions adressées au gouvernement de transition. (D’après Amnesty International, UK, 24 septembre 2002)

* Burundi. Army admits massacre — 19 September: The Burundian army has admitted killing 173 civilians in the central province of Gitega 10 days ago. But army spokesman Colonel Augustin Nabampema said that Hutu rebels of the Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) were «fully responsible for all the civilian who died on 9 September», saying that the rebels had taken the civilians as «hostages» and «accomplices». The army’s figure is less than the one of 183 quoted on 17 September by a senior Burundian MP who called for an official investigation into the reported killings by uniformed men. The killings took place in a region which has seen fierce fighting between rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army. Heavy fighting between government troops and rebels has been going on for several months as South African mediators attempt to get the main rebel groups to agree to a cease-fire. At least 200,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed during Burundi’s nine year civil war. The chairman of the parliament’s human rights committee, Leonidas Ntibayazi, who is head of Burundi’s main Hutu party, Frodebu, said the men had ordered people out of their houses and «then told them to lie down and shot them in cold blood». He did not, however, identify those responsible. «Whether it was the army or the rebels... we demand an official inquiry because it would be premature to accuse one group or another at this point,» Mr Ntibayazi said on 17 September. He said there were many women and children among the victims. Correspondents say local witnesses, who refused to give their names, claimed that  government soldiers had shot the civilians. 20 September: The Burundi army denies responsibility for the massacre, saying it had been «deliberately misquoted». 21 September: A report from MISNA says that the Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi is «shocked by the silence surrounding the massacre in the Itaba Hills. I am shocked by the international silence, even though the EU is closely following the case, but what is even more surprising is the silence inside the nation». 25 September: MISNA reports that this morning, army spokesman Colonel Augustin Nzabampema once again commented on the 9 September massacre. (Actual numbers of those killed vary — The military says 183; other sources place the death toll at over 1,200). The officer admitted that a small group of soldiers had opened fire against civilians but gave a series of justifications for what happened. The Colonel also said that the military commission conducting an investigation into what happened, has not yet completed its work. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 September 2002)