Child warriors killed in Burundi, 28 rebels are killed; Army thwarts drive

UJUMBURA, Burundi -- The army, grappling for control of Bujumbura, said 28 Hutu rebels were killed in a fresh offensive yesterday, most of them child fighters between 11 and 15 years old.


In the early morning attack, the rebel National Forces of Liberation, or FNL, who are fighting to end the political dominance of minority Tutsis, struck near the vice president's residence before government troops drove them back.

Five days of heavy clashes last week between the Tutsi-led army and the FNL, Burundi's second-largest Hutu rebel group, killed as many as 174 people and forced thousands more to flee their homes.

Army spokesman Colonel Augustin Nzabampema said 28 rebels were killed and two soldiers wounded in the rebel attack yesterday that targeted the eastern suburbs of Gihosha, Mutanga, and Gatoke. ''They attempted to infiltrate Gihosha and Mutanga north, but the army repulsed them back,'' he said.

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