The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Bujumbura

Burundi's army said on Thursday it had killed 50 fighters from the country's last active guerrilla group in renewed clashes outside the capital Bujumbura.

The attack comes barely a day after leaders of the Forces for National Liberation (FNL), an ethnic Hutu group, said they would return to the tiny coffee-growing country from exile to implement a long awaited peace deal. "The Forces for National Liberation ambushed our troops on patrol, the army then entered into heavy battle with the insurgents t two soldiers were also killed," army spokesman Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza said. He said four soldiers were wounded, 31 rebels captured and several weapons seized.

The rebel group blamed the army for the fighting.

"It is really regrettable, at the time we were ready to come back to Burundi to continue talks with the government, the army decided to intensify attacks against our positions," spokesman Pasteur Habimana said from Dar es Salaam.

"This proves that the government and its army have chosen the war option instead of peace talks," he added.

The Wednesday night battle in the FNL stronghold of Kabezi, 20 km (12 miles) south of Bujumbura, brings the death toll to 103 since renewed violence began in April.

The persistent insurgency is seen by many as the final barrier to lasting stability in the tiny central African nation of 8 million.