Monday, May 24, 2004
AU welcomes UN decision on peacekeeping in Burundi
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Chairperson of the Commission
of the African Union (AU), Alpha Oumar Konare has welcomed the
unanimous decision of the UN Security Council to deploy a
peacekeeping operation in Burundi beginning 1 June 2004.

In its resolution 1545 on 21 May 2004, the Security Council
agreed to deploy a peacekeeping force, named as United Nations
Operation in Burundi or ONUB, for an initial period of six
months.

This decision, which comes at a critical juncture in the peace
and reconciliation process in the central African country, is
expected to facilitate the ongoing efforts to bring to a definite
end the conflict that has been ravaging Burundi for more than a
decade.

In a communiqué issued here, Konare paid tribute to UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan and the Security Council for their efforts and
for what he called a "timely resolution on Burundi."

"As ONUB prepares itself to take over the peacekeeping
responsibilities from the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB), the
Chairperson of the Commission would like to express his profound
appreciation for the excellent work done by AMIB, in spite of the
very severe financial and logistical constrains the Mission was
faced with," the communiqué said.

Konare reiterated his gratitude to the troop contributing
countries -- South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique -- and to the
other countries that have provided military observers to the AU,
namely Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali, Togo and Tunisia.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission equally thanked all AU
partners that have provided financial support to AMIB.

AMIB has been deployed in Burundi since 2 April 2003, following a
decision of the AU's Central Organ of the Mechanism for Conflict
Prevention, Management and Resolution, to oversee the
implementation of ceasefire agreements, pending the deployment of
a UN peacekeeping mission.

AMIB's current strength stands at about 2,600 troops, including
military observers.

The AU, which has been involved in the efforts to end the
conflict in Burundi since 1994, pledged to continue doing
everything possible to support the Burundian parties as they
strive to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation in their
country.

Meanwhile, the AU said it would maintain a strong presence in
Burundi and extend full cooperation and support to ONUB, in
pursuit of the common objective of bringing about lasting peace
in Burundi.