Come Together

Burundi is reforming its armed groups into one big happy army.

Burundi's largest armed groups have formed a single national army after more than a decade of war.
All but one of the Hutu rebel groups and the Tutsi dominated government army are brought together.

The move is a major step in the long process to end the crisis in Burundi that has claimed more than 300,000 lives during an 11 year civil war.

But a BBC reporter says it will take at least four years before the process of forming the new army is complete.

Presidential spokesman Pancrace Cimpaye said that in theory all armed fighters in Burundi were now the responsibility of the government, which would feed, clothe and pay them.

Believe it or not, I think this is a good thing. The important thing will be to give all groups appropriate representation in the military leadership; allowing the government-dominated group of Tutsis to retain all leadership power will do nothing but encourage mutinies and civil unrest within the military. If they can maintain a representative spread within the leadership (staff noncommissioned officers, commissioned officers, and flag officers), this could do a lot to unify Burundi, and possibly even other nations if they can follow suit.

There's no closer brotherhood than that of men who have nothing whatsoever in common, save for their commitment to protect each other.