BUJUMBURA, Sept 1 (AFP) - A grenade attack wounded 57 civilians, seven seriously, at a crowded market in the northeast of Burundi's capital Bujumbura, a local official said on Saturday.
"A grenade was thrown by two men who then ran away" in the Kinama district at around 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday, district chief Iddry Nziragucumura told AFP.

"We don't know yet who is responsible for this appalling attack," he said.

The official added that "57 people were wounded, seven of them seriously", and 15 of the injured "were admitted to a private clinic after being taken round hospitals for three hours without treatment."

The three public hospitals in the capital were unable to cope with the number of casualties, Nziragucumura said.

Most residents of Kinama come from the small central African country's Hutu majority population. The district was invaded and occupied by Hutu rebels of the National Liberation Front (FNL) for two weeks last February.

The FNL is one of two main Hutu armed groups which have been fighting the army and regime, dominated by minority Tutsis, in a civil war which has killed some 200,000 people, mainly civilians, since 1993.

Rebel groups have so far mainly steered clear of a peace process under way among Burundi's government, parliament and political parties.

Several grenade attacks have taken place in Bujumbura this year. The last killed one person in the central Bwiza district two months ago.

The FNL invasion of Kinama came on the eve of one round of peace talks and was eventually halted by government troops. More than 200 people lost their lives in the fighting, including about 50 civilians, according to an official toll.

esd-hba/nb/jah AFP

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