Burundi, Chad peacekeepers exchange fire in Central Africa

Burundian and Chadian troops in MISCA, the African force deployed in the Central African Republic (CAR), exchanged fire in Bangui, the commander of the Burundian contingent said. Lieutenant-Colonel Pontien Hakizimana, head of the Burundian contingent in MISCA, told AFP his men were disarming former rebels when Chadian troops from MISCA threw a grenade and opened fire on them, prompting some Burundian elements to return fire, wounding three Chadians. The Chadian troops within the 3,700 MISCA African force are accused by the force commanders and by French troops deployed in Bangui of siding with the ex-Seleka rebels the force it is supposed to disarm. "On Monday morning we intercepted six armed ex-Seleka and we disarmed them," Hakizimana told AFP from Bangui. A group of Chadian soldiers went by on a truck and threw a grenade at the Burundians, which exploded without causing any casualties, he said. "Then the Chadians left with the ex-Seleka, firing in all directions," he said, adding some of his men came under fire and retaliated, wounding three Chadians. "The Chadians soldiers came back in greater numbers in the afternoon and attacked our positions," Hakizimana said. A military source in Bujumbura said relations between the Burundians and the Chadians had been strained ever since the Chadians in the MISCA had been re-deployed outside the capital and the Burundians tasked with securing Bangui. On top of the 850 men deployed in CAR, Burundi also has some 5,500 men in the African Union force in Somalia and plans to deploy a contingent in Mali.