An unknown number of rebels have been killed in fighting against government troops in northern Burundi, forcing up to 65,000 civilians to flee their homes, army and local authority officials told IRIN on Tuesday.

On 01 July, Burundi will be celebrating its independence of 1962 from the Belgians, and while they will be observing this remarkable day the rest of the world will be hoping for the lasting peace of a ten year civil war that has ravaged that country, leaving more than 300 000 dead with over a million people, according to the UN, internally displaced or living abroad as refugees. Read this commentary from www.zmag.org by clicking on the link provided.

Attacks by the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) rebel faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza have increased in several areas in Burundi, the latest being the abduction on Monday of a local official in Kayanza Province to the north of the country.

The U.N. Security Council must focus on wartime violence against civilians in its upcoming mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa, Human Rights Watch said in a press release. In an open letter to the Security Council, Human Rights Watch also urged the Council to raise the need for justice for abuses with the leaders in the region.