Residents return to neighborhood of Burundi capital

BUJUMBURA, Burundi -- Residents of a battle-scarred neighborhood of this capital returned to their homes Monday following the deadliest rebel attack on the city in more than two years.

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency personnel at the American embassy to leave this central African nation, which is in the midst of a nearly 10-year civil war.

The fighting erupted July 7 when Hutu rebels of the National Liberation Forces, or FNL, attacked the Musaga neighborhood at the southern tip of Bujumbura.

The Tutsi-dominated army retaliated with mortars and helicopter gunships, eventually forcing the insurgents to retreat back into the hills Friday.

As the fighting ended late Sunday the rebels released 39 civilians abducted from Musaga during clashes, said Venant Barkamfitiye, one of the people released.

The war broke out in October 1993 after Tutsi paratroopers assassinated the country's first democratically elected president, a Hutu. More than 200,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.

Despite being in the minority, Tutsis have effectively controlled the nation for all but a few months since independence in 1962.

A transitional government took office in November 2001 after Hutu and Tutsi political parties signed a power-sharing accord, but the rebels did not participate in that peace process and fighting continued.