UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution calling on the remaining rebel group in Burundi to join the peace negotiations and end the violence.
The Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People rebel group, or Palipehutu-FNL, is the last remaining militant group that hasn't joined in the peace talks. The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday that extends the mandate for the U.N. operations in Burundi for another year, the United Nations reported.
As part of the resolution, the Security Council called on the rebel leaders of Palipehutu-FNL to end their holdout on participating with the Burundi government and with the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism working to establish peace in the country. Burundi has been marred by violent ethnic conflicts between Hutus and Tutsis for more than four decades, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands.
The U.N. mission in Burundi has been calling on militants to hand over weapons in exchange for support in being reintroduced into civil society. The new resolution also calls on the Burundi government "to lay the foundations for the sustainable socioeconomic reintegration of demobilized soldiers, ex-combatants, returning refugees, the displaced and other vulnerable groups affected by the conflict, particularly women and children," the release said.
