The offensive began in early July. Fifty thousand people immediately fled their homes, most of them seeking shelter in the jungle, a wretched place, but one preferable to the suburban slums.
The guerrillas sabotaged a dam producing a third of the country's electricity, knocking out power in the nation's capital. The national army, a ragtag bunch of tribal thugs whose basic job is to keep civilians kowtowed, launched a series of counterattacks. In one suspicious instance, the army plastered a neighborhood with rocket artillery. Rocket artillery, an "area weapon," is notoriously inaccurate. The army's attitude: If the "area" didn't have guerrillas, it housed their sympathizers. C'est la guerre.
Or c'est la guerre in Burundi. As usual, few outside Africa noticed. Burundi bleeds, then bleeds some more.
