200810222204 | Nqakula fails to facilitate Burundi peace talks.

Nqakula fails to facilitate Burundi peace talks.

Bujumbura - The chief mediator in the Burundi peace process said on Tuesday he cannot heal the deep rift between the government and the country's last active rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (FNL).

"The two parties agree on a number of issues, but there is big disagreement between the government and the FNL on two crucial aspects," said Charles Nqakula after holding a lengthy discussion between both sides on Monday.

They include the government's recognition of the rebels' political branch, the Palipehutu-FNL, as a political party and allowing its members to enter the government, Nqakula, South Africa's defence minister, told reporters.

The government has refused to accept the FNL as a party with the name "Palipehutu," which means party for the liberation of the Hutu people, arguing the constitution forbids political parties with ethnic affiliations.

"These issues have a direct impact on Burundi's constitution and the government says it cannot move forward if the Palipehutu-FNL does not respect the central tenets and spirit of the constitution," Nqakula said.

"We cannot resolve these political differences without the help of the regions' leaders," he added.

Long-term facilitator for Burundi, Nqakula was reappointed earlier this month by the country's President Pierre Nkurunziza to help prevent a return to the armed conflict.

But the rival camps said he failed to reach a compromise between Nkurunziza and FNL leader, Agathon Rwasa, after six hours of talks on Monday.

Nqakula was heading next to Kampala to meet with other mediators in the Burundi conflict, including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete.

Burundi is struggling to emerge from the ashes of a civil war which erupted in 1993 and killed some 300 000 people.

The FNL has signed a peace agreement with the government two years ago, but its implementation has been fraught with obstacles over how to share political and military power.