102 Scarcity and Surfeit
been various further splits within these groups. Several Tutsi militias also
formed during this time in support of the Burundian army, and the 'political'
groups that arose from them play a role in the peace process today.
The rebel groups draw their strength from refugees from previous episodes
of violence and the current conflict. Since 1993 some 700 000 people, mainly
Hutu, have fled to neighbouring countries in addition to the refugees already
living in camps sirice 1965 or 1972. The main recruitment camps are in the
DRC and Tanzania. The living conditions in many camps are dismal, and
refugees are discriminated against in their host countries. For many, violent
conquest of their own country is seen as the only means of returning home. In
addition to having their bases and recruitment camps in neighbouring coun-
tries, Hutu rebel groups have become embroiled in wider regional conflict
dynamics, especially through their role in the conflict the DRC. Burundi's gov-
ernment, along with Rwanda and Uganda, has been supporting the rebel forces
fighting the government in Kinshasa. In retribution, Kinshasa is reported to
finance, train and arm Burundi Hutu rebels, especially the CNDD and FDD, in
support of their fight against the Bujumbura government. These regional
dynamics have a major impact on the peace process, as we will see below.
A further outcome of the ongoing conflict is the extreme humanitarian sit-
uation in Burundi. This is partly due to the general disruption caused by the
violence, and partly due to the government policy of 'regroupment: This pol-
icy involved forcing much of the rural, largely Hutu population into camps,
with the argument of protecting them from rebel attacks and as a counter-
insurgency measure to cut Hutu rebels off from their supply base in the coun-
try. At one point, up to 800 000 people were held in such camps, including
virtually the entire rural population of Bujumbura rural province. There has
been the constant and widespread threat of hunger since subsistence agri-
culture has been severely curtailed by the fact that farmers have been dis-
placed from their fields or held in camps far from their land. The health con-
ditions within the camps were also extremely bad, killing many from cholera.
Most camps were closed by the end of 1998, because of international pres-
sure, through the continued withholding of international financial aid and
regional sanctions, but the threat of hunger remains.
International attention was focused on Burundi from 1993 through the with-
drawal of international aid in reaction to the assassination of President
Ndadaye. The most significant international action was the imposition of
regional sanctions in the immediate aftermath of Major Buyoya's coup in 1996.
Key Factors in the Conflict
This section will analyse three factors as key to the conflict in Burundi. The first
is the predatory nature of the state, the second ethnicity and the third refugees.