Bujumbura — PALIPEHUTU-FNL has resumed its old habit of using force to obtain contributions from the population. This policy was decided upon during various meetings of FNL in the Kibira forest and Rukoko savannah in late December 2007, as administrative sources in Bubanza province say.
Since these meetings, changes have been noticed in the way this movement collect contributions. In Musigati commune, fighting between the national army and FNL combatants claimed the life of one soldier in late December 2007. FNL combatants had come out of the Kibira forest to collect food from the local people who subsequently fled to the headquarters of the commune following these clashes. Two FNL combatants were killed in Bukeye last week as they were trying to rob the population. In Gihanga commune, about 90 cows were stolen in the afternoon of Sunday 6 January. FNL combatants stationed in Rukoko forest are held responsible for this theft. The efforts to find these cows and their keeper have revealed that they are now in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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