AFRICA/BURUNDI - “The Holy Father’s words are an incentive for the international community to take greater interest in Burundi,” the country’s Apostolic Nuncio says.

Bujumbura (Agenzia Fides) - “We are very grateful to the Holy Father for the appeal for Burundi. It is a way to remind the international community of the country’s situation, so that they can make a greater effort in contributing to its stabilization,” Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi, told Agenzia Fides. At the Regina Caeli on Sunday, April 27, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the situation in Burundi, asking all parties involved “to take up again without delay the way of dialogue and reconciliation.”
“The Holy Father’s words are a comfort to the people who have suffered over a decade of war, and are an incentive for the international community to take greater interest in bringing peace to this country,” said the Nuncio, whose residence was struck a few days ago in a rebel artillery attack (see Fides 23/4/2008). “The attack hit us by mistake. The rebels also hit other buildings in the area, in the effort to bomb the Presidential residence. We are grateful for the expressions of sympathy that we have received following the attacks, on the part of local authorities,” Archbishop Gallagher said.
Since April 17, rebels from the National Liberation Forces (NLF) have been launching attacks in some areas of the country, including the capital. “The renewal of hostilities has disheartened the people who so yearn for peace, a necessary ingredient for improving the economic and social conditions. Various projects for development are now underway in Burundi, in collaboration with the European Union and other groups. Their success, however, depends on the stabilization of the country,” Archbishop Gallagher said.
“In downtown Bujumbura, the situation is calm, although there have been reports of fighting on the outskirts of the city,” the Nuncio added. Military sources report heavy fighting in the rural area of Bujumbura. Several thousand inhabitants of the province have evacuated the area. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 29/4/2008; righe 26, parole 310)